File image.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has admitted that one of its soldiers was killed and two others were wounded near the border with Lebanon in a drone attack that was carried out by Hezbollah on December 16.
The attack targeted a newly-established gathering of troops near the settlement of Margaliot. Hezbollah said that the gathering was targeted with a single suicide drone. However, the IDF alleged that two drones were involved in the attack, one of them got shot down by the Iron Dome air defense system.
The IDF identified the slain soldier as reserve Warrant Officer Yehezkel Azaria, 53, of the 8th Armored Brigade’s 129th Battalion, from Petah Tikva. It also revealed that the wounded soldiers are from the Alexandroni Brigade’s 6609th Reconnaissance Battalion.
Hezbollah’s Military Media later released a video of the drone attack, and another video showing an attack with anti-tank guided missiles that targeted the IDF’s Matat barracks.
Hezbollah launched a total of six attacks against the IDF during December 16. The group said that the attacks were carried out “to support the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their brave and honorable resistance.”
The clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border first broke out after the start of the war in Gaza, with Hezbollah and its allies carrying out attacks in support of the Strip. So far, seven soldiers of the IDF and four Israeli civilians have been killed in cross-brooder attacks.
Recently, Israel warned it will no longer tolerate the presence of Hezbollah along its northern front. The Iranian-backed group continues to ignore this warning.
