Israeli soldier killed in Hezbollah drone attack

JERUSALEM, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) — Israel’s military announced on Monday that a soldier was killed in a drone attack launched from Lebanon by Hezbollah, targeting northern Israel.
Chief Warrant Officer Mahmood Amaria, 45, “fell during combat,” the military said in a statement. Amaria was a resident of the Bedouin village of Ibtin in northern Israel and served in the Bedouin Trackers Unit within the 300th Brigade of the Border Defense Corps.
Another officer from the same brigade was severely injured in the attack and was rushed to a hospital, the military said. Three other soldiers sustained light injuries.
In the incident, five drones entered Israel’s Western Galilee from Lebanon. Three were intercepted by the Iron Dome aerial defense system, while the remaining two exploded in separate locations, according to the army. Hezbollah also fired rockets into northern Israel.
Overnight and early Monday morning, the Israeli military conducted strikes in southern Lebanon, reportedly killing at least two people, according to Israeli media.
The violence was the latest in ongoing clashes between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border, which began on Oct. 7, 2023. ■