A reserve officer was severely wounded and three reserve NCOs and one regular-service NCO were lightly wounded by an explosive drone in southern Lebanon overnight, the IDF Spokesperson announced Friday morning. The soldiers were evacuated to a hospital and their families have been notified. This is the second reported drone-related wounding incident in the area in a matter of hours.
A reserve officer was severely wounded and four NCOs (three reservists and one career soldier) were lightly wounded by an explosive drone in southern Lebanon overnight Thursday-Friday, the IDF cleared for publication at 09:36 Jerusalem. All soldiers were evacuated to a hospital and their families notified.
The IDF's confirmation at 09:36 Jerusalem followed an earlier bulletin by The Zioneer at 10:20 Jerusalem, in which the father of fallen soldier Naveh Son Shimon confirmed his son was killed alongside the four wounded troops. The IDF later cleared the fallen soldier's name for publication in its own announcement at 09:36 Jerusalem, which listed five wounded — one severely and four lightly — and did not mention a fatality. The Zioneer's reporting at 10:20 Jerusalem had already incorporated the family confirmation, making it the more comprehensive account. This marks at least the sixth explosive-drone incident against IDF personnel in southern Lebanon this month, as the desk has tracked since June 5.
As The Zioneer has reported across the month, a command tank was struck at 00:30 Jerusalem on at least one prior occasion, and a Commando Brigade team was hit at 04:00. On June 11, a female soldier was moderately wounded by a drone. On June 17, five soldiers were wounded in a separate strike. Earlier this week, four additional troops were wounded in an overnight incident. The repeated drone attacks underscore a persistent aerial threat to Israeli forces operating north of the border despite the declared ceasefire with Hezbollah.
The precise circumstances of the initial strike sequence remain somewhat unclear. The IDF's early versions referred to a single drone striking a reserve force; subsequent versions indicated a possible rocket strike on forces before the drone attack, and the final count of personnel affected has shifted across the thread's versions. The family confirmation of a fatality has not been formally matched by an IDF casualty announcement as of this update.
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