Army announces two reserves troops killed in Hezbollah drone attack Monday
Air defenses fail to shoot down explosive-laden aircraft launched from Lebanon; another soldier lightly hurt
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Two reserves soldiers were killed in a Hezbollah-claimed explosive-laden drone attack against an army position near Metula in northern Israel on Monday afternoon, the military announced Tuesday.
The Israel Defense Forces said it attempted, but failed, to intercept the explosive drone that ultimately struck and killed the soldiers.
The pair were named as Master Sgt. (res.) Dan Kamkagi, 31, from Kfar Oranim, and Master Sgt. (res) Nahman Natan Hertz, 31, from Elazar. Both served in the 551st Brigade’s 6551st Battalion.
Another soldier was lightly hurt in the attack, the military added.
The Hezbollah terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Following the attack, the IDF said fighter jets struck a building used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Srebbine, as well as a rocket-launching post in Ayta ash-Shab.
מטוסי קרב תקפו בשעות האחרונות מבנה צבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב סרבין ועמדת שיגור של הארגון בעייתא א-שעב שבדרום לבנון.
מוקדם יותר היום כוחות צה"ל ביצעו ירי ארטילרי להסרת איום במרחב א-צוונה שבדרום לבנון. pic.twitter.com/770jdOrGfO
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 6, 2024
Troops also shelled areas near Souaneh with artillery to “remove threats,” the IDF added.
Prior to the deadly drone attack, a barrage of some 30 rockets was launched from Lebanon at the Golan Heights, the IDF said.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it launched dozens of rockets at an army base in the Golan Heights in response to an earlier IDF strike in northeastern Lebanon.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war there.
So far, the skirmishes on the border have resulted in nine civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 13 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 290 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 56 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and at least 60 civilians, three of whom were journalists, have been killed.
Israel has threatened to go to war to force Hezbollah away from the border if it does not retreat and continues to threaten northern communities, from where some 70,000 people have been evacuated to avoid the fighting.
