The Israeli army announced on Saturday the deaths of two soldiers who had been fighting in southern Lebanon, where Israel is pursuing a campaign against Hezbollah.
Captain Shahar Gamla, 23, died Saturday after succumbing to wounds sustained in combat, while Sergeant Ohad Yaari, 21, died Friday “during operational activity in southern Lebanon”, the military said.
Israel has lost 29 soldiers since the start of the latest war in Lebanon, as well as one civilian contractor, according to official figures.
Its bombing campaign and invasion of Lebanon’s south have killed more than 3,500 people there, according to the Lebanese health ministry.
Several soldiers had been killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in south Lebanon, Beirut’s military said Saturday, days after the two countries announced a conditional truce following talks in the United States.
“A number of military personnel, including an officer, were martyred in a barbaric Israeli raid targeting a military vehicle on the Khardali–Nabatieh road,” the Lebanese army said in a statement posted to X.
A ceasefire that was supposed to end the fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah took effect on April 17, but has not been respected.
Hezbollah and Israel have frequently exchanged accusations of violating the truce, with each side justifying its attacks with alleged violations committed by the other side.
A further conditional truce was announced by Lebanese and Israeli envoys this week in Washington.
It would require Hezbollah to stop firing, withdraw from near the Israeli border and would see Lebanon’s army deploy to new “pilot zones” in the area, where it will exercise exclusive control.
