An Israel Defense Forces reservist officer was killed in combat in Southern Lebanon, the military announced on Tuesday evening.
Maj. (res.) Itamar Sapir, 27, from the Samaria community of Eli, served as deputy company commander in the 7008th Battalion of the 551st “Half Fire” Brigade. He was killed when Hezbollah terrorists fired from inside a church at Israeli forces operating in the village of Qouza on Tuesday morning, the IDF said.
Qouza is a Maronite Christian village located near the Israeli border. During the recent war, the IDF evacuated the village after Hezbollah launched multiple attacks from it.
Sapir is survived by his wife and their 18-month-old son, his parents and three brothers. Their son, Maayan Yiftach, was named after Capt. Yiftach Yaavetz, a close friend and fellow Maglan officer killed on Oct. 7, 2023, while defending Kibbutz Nahal Oz from Hamas terrorists.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sapir “fought heroically against Hezbollah terrorists to defend our northern border.”
“My wife Sara and I, together with all citizens of Israel, send our deepest condolences to his family and embrace them in this difficult hour,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “May his memory be a blessing.”
Sapir was the eighth Israeli soldier killed in Lebanon since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect on April 16, 2026. He recently began studying computer science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem after completing his military service as a company commander in the elite Maglan unit.
On Saturday, the IDF announced that Capt. Maoz Israel Recanati, 24, from the Samaria community of Itamar, was killed in a Hezbollah drone strike in Southern Lebanon. Recanati, a platoon commander in the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, had been set to marry his fiancée next month.
Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel on March 2, following the targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei during the opening stages of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28.
In response to repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement, Israel launched a broad aerial campaign against Hezbollah targets and expanded military operations in Southern Lebanon aimed at preventing cross-border attacks on northern Israeli communities.
