The IDF released details of a Hezbollah combined attack overnight Saturday in southern Lebanon near Kfar Tebnit. A volley of rockets followed by an explosive drone struck a Commando Brigade position, killing Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari and wounding 13 other soldiers (two seriously, one moderately, 10 lightly).
The IDF has released new details clearing the sequence of a combined Hezbollah rocket and explosive-drone attack near the village of Kfar Tebnit (Tibnin) in southern Lebanon in the early hours of Saturday. At approximately 01:30 Jerusalem time, a volley of rockets preceded an explosive drone that struck a Commando Brigade position, killing Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari of the Maglan unit and wounding 13 other soldiers — two seriously, one moderately, and 10 lightly.
As The Zioneer has tracked since the first report, initial unconfirmed accounts at 20:44 Jerusalem Saturday cited an Israeli journalist naming a soldier called Nir killed by a drone. Within minutes, by 20:44, the IDF approved publication of the soldier’s name and unit — Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari of Maglan — and confirmed the combined nature of the attack: rockets and an explosive drone. Subsequent bulletins at 20:51 and 20:53 Jerusalem expanded the casualty count from 2 serious to 13 total wounded, named the location as near Kfar Tebnit, and reported an IDF retaliatory strike on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Nabatieh area. The current release formalizes all those details with official military confirmation.
This incident is one of several deadly Hezbollah strikes on Israeli forces in southern Lebanon this week, as The Zioneer reported on Thursday (Jun 18, 09:36 Jerusalem) when a soldier was killed by an IED in the Litani area, and on Saturday (20:36 Jerusalem) detailing four tank crew members killed in a tunnel-related incident on the Ali Taher ridge. The IDF has continued sustained operations in the region, striking Hezbollah assets and tunnel networks.
What remains unverified is whether the rocket volley and the drone originated from the same location or were coordinated separately, and Hezbollah has not issued an official claim of responsibility for the attack.
5 developments
- StrongLebanese sources: Five killed in Israeli strike on south Lebanon's Ali Taher ridge
- StrongIDF announces soldier from Maglan unit killed in southern Lebanon
- Developing4 IDF soldiers killed in Hezbollah tunnel-ambush in south Lebanon; 147 rockets fired at Israeli troops
- StrongIDF halts fire in south Lebanon after night of heavy clashes with Hezbollah
Source and signal
- Internal intake