A senior Israel Defense Forces officer and two soldiers were killed during a firefight with terrorists who infiltrated into Israeli territory from southern Lebanon on Monday afternoon, the military confirmed on Tuesday. Five additional Israeli troops were wounded in the attack, according to the IDF.
The officer was identified as 300th Brigade Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Alim Abdullah, 40, from the Druze village of Yanuh-Jat in northern Israel.
According to local media, Abdullah was set to conclude his army service on Sunday.
“The IDF sends its heartfelt condolences to his family and will continue to support them,” the military stated.
Israeli forces killed two of the terrorists. Local media initially reported that three were killed, but the IDF clarified on Tuesday that the third fled back into Lebanon.
Following the incident, Israeli helicopter gunships struck targets in Southern Lebanon, as residents near the border fence were instructed to remain in their homes, with their doors locked and lights out.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Al-Quds Brigades, in a statement posted on Telegram, claimed responsibility for the cross-border attack. It said seven “Zionist soldiers” had been wounded.
An official in the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organization cited by Reuters had denied the organization’s involvement in the incident. A Lebanese security official told the wire service that the cell belonged to Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
Earlier on Monday, a mortar shell from Lebanon hit an open area, also in the Upper Galilee but further east, the IDF said.
Sirens sounded in Moshav Ramot Naftali and Kibbutz Yiftah, south of Kiryat Shmona and near Lebanon, the army said.
On Monday night, several additional rockets were fired from Lebanon at Israel, causing no damage.
The IDF said that no one was injured in that attack.
On Sunday, IDF artillery hit targets in Southern Lebanon after Hezbollah terrorists there fired mortars at the Jewish state. The military confirmed that there were no Israeli casualties.
The enemy shells hit in the contested Mount Dov region close to the Blue Line, which demarcates the 120-kilometer (75-mile) border and was created in 2000 by U.N. cartographers to verify Israel’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
Hezbollah claimed responsibility for Sunday’s fire, saying it targeted three Israeli military sites in solidarity with the “Palestinian resistance.”
