Milan, Aug. 6 (LaPresse) – Two Israeli reservist soldiers were killed and four others were seriously wounded after being struck yesterday by an explosive device in the town of Majdal Zoun, southern Lebanon, according to the IDF. The Times of Israel reported this. The soldiers who were killed were Major Harel Birenstock, 34, a company commander from Nokdim, and Master Sergeant (Res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat. Both served in the 2855th Battalion of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade. According to a preliminary IDF investigation, at around noon on Wednesday, soldiers from the reserve brigade entered a building in Majdal Zoun during operations aimed at destroying Hezbollah infrastructure. As they entered the building, an explosion occurred, killing and wounding the soldiers. The wounded troops were taken to hospital and their families have been notified, the military added. These are the first Israeli fatalities since a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah came into effect in June. On Wednesday, the Israeli military carried out strikes in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as a Hezbollah ceasefire violation and urged residents of the village of Mansouri to flee—the first warning of its kind issued by Israel in Lebanon in weeks. The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss the implementation of a June 26 agreement under which Israeli forces are to withdraw from the areas they occupy in southern Lebanon and allow the Lebanese army to take control in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets across the border two days after the United States and Israel carried out their strikes against Iran. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held since June 20, but Israeli forces have continued to occupy large areas of southern Lebanon and carry out periodic airstrikes and shelling.
Lebanon, IDF: “Two soldiers killed and 4 seriously wounded after explosion in the south”
Milan, Aug. 6 (LaPresse) – Two Israeli reservist soldiers were killed and four others were seriously wounded after being struck yesterday by an explosive device in the town of Majdal Zoun, southern Lebanon, according to the IDF. The Times of Israel reported this. The soldiers who were killed were Major Harel Birenstock, 34, a company commander from Nokdim, and Master Sergeant (Res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat. Both served in the 2855th Battalion of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade. According to a preliminary IDF investigation, at around noon on Wednesday, soldiers from the reserve brigade entered a building in Majdal Zoun during operations aimed at destroying Hezbollah infrastructure. As they entered the building, an explosion occurred, killing and wounding the soldiers. The wounded troops were taken to hospital and their families have been notified, the military added. These are the first Israeli fatalities since a fragile ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah came into effect in June. On Wednesday, the Israeli military carried out strikes in southern Lebanon in response to what it described as a Hezbollah ceasefire violation and urged residents of the village of Mansouri to flee—the first warning of its kind issued by Israel in Lebanon in weeks. The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome to discuss the implementation of a June 26 agreement under which Israeli forces are to withdraw from the areas they occupy in southern Lebanon and allow the Lebanese army to take control in exchange for Hezbollah’s disarmament. The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah erupted on March 2, when Hezbollah launched rockets across the border two days after the United States and Israel carried out their strikes against Iran. A fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held since June 20, but Israeli forces have continued to occupy large areas of southern Lebanon and carry out periodic airstrikes and shelling.