TEHRAN – The Israeli military announces two more soldiers were killed and dozens were injured amid clashes and ambushes by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

According to the spokesperson for the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF), a soldier has been killed and more than twelve others injured, all of whom belonged to the elite Maglan Unit. 

The IOF also confirmed the death of another elite soldier, bringing the military death toll since Thursday to at least six. Israeli media reported that dozens more troops have been wounded over the same period, some in critical condition. 

Since the Israeli escalation of aggression in Lebanon began on March 2, nearly 40 IOF troops have been killed and more than 1,000 others wounded in fierce fighting with Hezbollah.

Military experts say the actual death toll is likely higher, arguing that the regime’s strict wartime media censorship limits reporting on military casualties.

The regime’s Army Radio reported that the Maglan soldier was killed in a serious incident whose details were cleared for publication. The incident involved a missile, mortar, and explosive drone attack carried out by Hezbollah against the area of Kfar Tebnit village and the Ali Taher mountain range in southern Lebanon.

The radio station added that the attack occurred when Hezbollah targeted the occupation regime’s troops with dozens of rockets, mortar shells, and explosive drones during an IOF attempt aimed at seizing control of the Ali al-Taher hills.

Hebrew media reported that all major security incidents that occurred in southern Lebanon in recent days have been concentrated near the Ali al-Taher hills area. 

Several days earlier, the IOF acknowledged the death of Battalion 52 commander Lt. Col. Dor Gdalia Ben Simhon and three other soldiers after a tank was struck during a military operation in southern Lebanon.

The IOF announced the name of an armored corps sergeant who died “in combat” on Friday night, and believed to have been caused by an explosive drone carrying an anti-tank warhead.

According to the IOF, the sergeant was a member of the battalion commander’s tank crew and was killed alongside him inside the tank. The names of the other two soldiers killed in the same incident have not yet been released.

Hebrew media reported that the tank remains in southern Lebanon and has not been evacuated, delaying completion of a comprehensive investigation. 

Analysts have suggested the remains of all four troops have yet to be recovered after Hezbollah put up fierce resistance around the vicinity of the Ali al-Taher hills. The IOF is unable to reach the site of the Hezbollah ambush to recover the destroyed tank. 
 
Israeli media revealed a preliminary investigation into what it described as a “complex Hezbollah attack” that involved anti-tank missiles and drones that attacked several IOF tanks.

The Israeli regime’s Channel 7 reported that a drone penetrated one tank through its rear access point and is believed to have been carrying anti-tank munitions. The strike followed an attack involving missiles believed to be Kornet anti-tank missiles before the drone exploded inside the vehicle.

Hebrew media confirmed that the IOF had failed to capture the Ali al-Taher hills in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon.

Other reports said that numerous tanks were damaged during the IOF aggression and described the battles on the Ali al-Taher hills as exceptionally difficult, which resulted in the death of several IOF soldiers and injury of a “very large” number.

The Operations Room of Hezbollah stated that it had thwarted an infiltration attempt by an IOF commando force toward the Ali al-Taher Heights, inflicting deaths and injuries on the force. It also reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire while maintaining full readiness to confront any violations.

In a statement, the Operations Room said that the Israeli regime was once again resorting to false claims to justify breaching a ceasefire that it had never truly respected.

The statement said the Lebanese resistance movement had continued to abide by the ceasefire since Friday evening, despite IOF violations from the very first moments. Under the cover of the ceasefire, the statement added, the occupation forces attempted to infiltrate the Ali Taher Heights, a position they had previously failed to seize.

The statement continued that when the invaders’ infantry force, belonging to the IOF’s Commando Brigade, entered an ambush prepared by resistance fighters, it was engaged with appropriate weapons, resulting in confirmed deaths and injuries among its ranks.

It added that the Zionist regime subsequently launched intensive airstrikes both inside and outside the operational area, once again targeting civilians in an effort to conceal its military failure.

On Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem declared that the Lebanese resistance movement had made a “Karbala-style decision” to continue confronting the IOF “without limits.”

He emphasized: “We exercised patience when necessary and fought when necessary. For fifteen months, our patience itself was a form of fighting. Since March 2, our fighting has become direct fighting, and there will be no return to the period before March 2.” 

He also vowed that the IOF “will withdraw from every last inch of our land.”

Despite the supposed ceasefire, Israel has continued committing massacres with strikes targeting villages in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries.