Two IDF soldiers killed, nine hurt in Hezbollah attacks on Galilee
Injured soldiers evacuated for medical treatment after anti-tank missiles, drones fired at north; Lebanese terror group says 37 members killed in portable device blasts, strikes
Two soldiers were killed and several others were wounded in Hezbollah missile and drone attacks on northern Israel on Thursday, the military said.
The Israel Defense Forces named the slain soldiers as Maj. (res.) Nael Fwarsy, 43, a logistics company commander in the 300th “Baram” Regional Brigade’s 299th Battalion, from Maghar, and Sgt. Tomer Keren, 20, of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, from Haifa.
Fwarsy was killed and another soldier was lightly wounded after an explosive-laden drone launched by Hezbollah struck an area outside Ya’ara in the Western Galilee.
Keren was killed and eight other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously, after two anti-tank missiles launched by Hezbollah from Lebanon struck a position in the Ramim Ridge area on the border in the Galilee Panhandle.
Rambam Medical Center in Haifa said it had admitted two people in moderate-to-serious condition while Ziv Hospital in Safed said it admitted six who were lightly hurt.
A video shared on social media earlier showed a projectile hitting a chicken coop in the Margaliot agricultural community. There were no injuries to people. The building was full of livestock at the time, and it was not clear if the birds were harmed.
The IDF said it returned fire with artillery at the source of the rocket launches.
במקביל לתקרית ירי הנ"ט ברכס רמים, חיזבאללה ביצעו ירי נ"ט בפגיעה ישירה גם בלול תרנגולות במושב מרגליות. תיעוד ההרס הרב: pic.twitter.com/OtYOQulEm3
— יאיר קראוס (@yair_kraus) September 19, 2024
The incidents came amid a period of sharply spiraling tensions on the border with Lebanon, where Israeli forces have been exchanging fire with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah for months. So far neither side has allowed the situation to escalate into a full-scale war, but recent developments have raised fears that an all-out conflict could explode at any moment.
On Tuesday thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah members exploded almost simultaneously, killing 12 people and injuring nearly 3,000, with the terror group blaming Israel and vowing revenge. Then, on Wednesday, another wave of explosions appearing to mainly target handheld radios used by Hezbollah members killed 25 people and injured some 450, according to Lebanese health officials.
Hezbollah named 12 members it said were killed by Israel on Tuesday — some who were killed after pagers used by the terror group exploded, and others in strikes in southern Lebanon. On Wednesday evening and Thursday morning, Hezbollah announced the deaths of another 25 members, all of whom were killed in the walkie-talkie blasts.
In all, Hezbollah has admitted to the deaths of 37 members in the past two days.
During the night, Israeli fighter jets struck buildings used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon’s Chihine, Taybeh, Blida, Mays al-Jabal Aitaroun, and Kafr Kila, the IDF said.
Planes also hit a Hezbollah weapons depot in Khiam, the military added.
The IDF released footage of the strikes.
במהלך הלילה, מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו מבנים צבאיים של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחבים שיחין, א-טייבה, בליידא, מיס אל ג'בל, עיתרון וכפר כילא שבדרום לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/wz1P9veyfi
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 19, 2024
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke overnight with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to “reflect on the strategic, regional picture and to brief the Secretary on IDF operations in the southern and northern arenas, focusing on Israel’s defense against Hezbollah threats,” the minister’s office said in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, Hezbollah fired around 20 projectiles into Israel, most of which were intercepted by air defense systems without causing any injuries, the military said.
The developments came after Gallant announced a “new phase” in the war, which began in the south on October 7 when Palestinian terror group Hamas led a devastating cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, in solidarity with Hamas.
Gallant said the focus would be shifting to the north, with more military units and resources being sent to the border. According to Israeli officials, the forces being deployed to the border include the 98th Division, an elite formation including commando and paratroop elements that has been fighting in Gaza.
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated on both sides of the border, and there has been mounting pressure in Israel for the government to enable the evacuees to go back home.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Wednesday to return the evacuated Israelis “securely to their homes” a day after the security cabinet added returning them as a declared goal of the Gaza war, along with destroying Hamas, ensuring it can’t attack Israel again, and bringing home the 97 hostages that terrorists abducted from the country on October 7 and took as captives back to Gaza.
So far, the skirmishes in the north have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
Hezbollah has named 478 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. Another 79 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Meanwhile, Israeli authorities were looking into whether “emergency warning” text messages sent overnight and instructing thousands of Israelis to immediately enter their bomb shelters were sent by Iranian-linked actors.
The IDF clarified that it didn’t send the messages, which were sent from a user apparently pretending to be the IDF Home Front, but that misspelled the Hebrew term for a safe room and included a suspicious hyperlink.
Some messages that were sent took a more sinister tone, telling recipients to hug their loved ones goodbye or that they would soon “go to hell.”
In a statement, the National Cyber Directorate said the messages were “the enemy’s attempts to create panic.”
It warned that “during this period attempts of this type are increasing and therefore one should be more alert to suspicious messages, check links that seem unofficial and do not click on them, block the number” and report anything suspicious to the directorate on 119.
“If in doubt, check directly on recognized and official channels,” the statement said.
