The IDF cleared for publication that Maglan fighter Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari was killed overnight Saturday in a combined Hezbollah attack on Israeli forces near Kfar Tebnit and the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah struck with dozens of rockets, mortar shells, and explosive drones during the IDF's operation to take control of the ridge; 13 troops were wounded (two seriously, one moderately, 10 lightly).
The IDF cleared for publication overnight Saturday that Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari, a Maglan unit commando, was killed and 13 other soldiers were wounded in a combined Hezbollah attack on Israeli forces near Kfar Tebnit and the Ali Taher ridge. The assault, which occurred around 01:30, involved dozens of rockets, mortar shells, and an explosive drone striking a Commando Brigade force. Two soldiers were seriously wounded, one moderately, and 10 lightly. This update follows earlier reports: initial unconfirmed accounts Saturday night cited a soldier named Nir killed by an explosive drone (first published at 20:44 Jerusalem); by the same time, the IDF had confirmed his identity and the broader casualty count.
This incident is the latest in a series of escalating engagements on the Ali Taher ridge. As The Zioneer reported on Saturday, a separate event overnight Friday left four IDF soldiers dead — including Battalion 52 commander Lt. Col. Dor Gadelia Ben Shimon and Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein — in a tank-related incident during an operation to seize a Hezbollah tunnel network on the same ridge. Earlier Saturday, Lebanese sources reported five killed in an Israeli strike on the ridge, a claim that remains unverified. The IDF's casualty details are now confirmed across multiple publications, with the full scope of Hezbollah's munitions — including precise numbers of rockets and drones — still pending further military updates.
The wider context, as The Zioneer has reported, includes ongoing IDF operations on the Ali Taher ridge, where Hezbollah maintains a significant underground network. The ridge has been a flashpoint in recent days, with the IDF reporting 147 rockets and 20 drones fired at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon during Friday's fighting alone. What remains open is the full sequence of the attack's effect on ridge operations, and whether further Hezbollah attacks against IDF forces on the ridge can be expected.
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