An Israel Defense Forces soldier was killed, and another soldier was lightly wounded during operations against Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, the military said on Sunday.
Capt. David Hazutt, 21, from the southern coastal city of Ashkelon, served as a platoon commander in the 12th Battalion of the Golani Infantry Brigade.
The soldier who was injured “was evacuated to receive medical treatment at a hospital, and his family has been updated,” the IDF stated.
An IDF official told JNS that Hazutt was slain around 2 a.m. on Sunday after soldiers encountered a Hezbollah terrorist who entered a “suspicious structure” in Southern Lebanon’s Deir Siryan area.
“Following the incident, the soldiers began searching for the terrorist and struck targets in the area,” the military official said. “Efforts to eliminate the terrorists are ongoing, and the soldiers continue to search the area.”
The total death toll among Israeli troops since the start of the War of Redemption—which was triggered by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre—now stands at 964, according to official IDF data.
Hazutt is the first soldier to be killed by Hezbollah since Jerusalem and Beirut signed a framework agreement on June 26 aimed at removing the Iranian proxy from Lebanon.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that Jerusalem had instructed the IDF to prepare for a “prolonged stay” in the security zone in Southern Lebanon.
“The key principle established in the framework is that there will be no Israeli redeployment from Southern Lebanon, no withdrawal whatsoever, as long as the Hezbollah terrorist organization has not been disarmed throughout Lebanon, and the safety of northern residents is guaranteed,” the defense minister stated.
Hezbollah renewed its rocket and drone attacks from Southern Lebanon on Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on the first day of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.
In response, Jerusalem launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on Israeli communities.
Following the resumption of hostilities, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun vowed to do “the impossible” to stop cross-border hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, and moved to outlaw the Iranian proxy.
Israeli and Lebanese officials subsequently held five rounds of historic direct talks at the U.S. State Department, resulting in the framework of understandings that was reached on Friday.
