The Israeli military reported on Friday that five soldiers were killed during clashes with Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon, highlighting the escalating conflict despite ongoing diplomatic efforts by the Biden administration and others to stabilize the region.
The soldiers, all reservists, died overnight when a rocket struck their building, as reported by Kan, Israel’s public broadcaster. Additionally, twenty-four other soldiers sustained injuries in the attack.
This incident marks one of the highest casualty counts for the Israeli military in a single attack since the initiation of a ground invasion in southern Lebanon earlier this month.
Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, claimed responsibility for two rocket attacks targeting Israeli soldiers near the southern Lebanese town of Markaba, which has experienced intense clashes. It remains unclear if this location was where the soldiers were killed.
Despite Israeli airstrikes that have reportedly eliminated much of Hezbollah’s leadership, analysts indicate that the group remains operational. Israeli forces have described their adversary as adaptable and resilient.
Hezbollah, which receives support from Iran, has continued to launch strikes into Israeli territory from areas it controls in Lebanon. Following the recent killing of Hamas's leader, an ally of Hezbollah, the group has executed increasingly aggressive attacks, including a drone strike that damaged property owned by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In response, Israel has intensified its bombing campaign in the southern outskirts of Beirut, particularly in the densely populated Dahiya neighborhood, where Hezbollah exerts significant influence. The area experienced heavy Israeli airstrikes overnight, many of which occurred without prior evacuation warnings.
The Israeli military announced on Friday that its air force had targeted over 200 locations in Lebanon within the past day, resulting in the death of a commander from Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit. The military also reported ongoing efforts to locate and destroy underground facilities utilized by Hezbollah along Israel’s northern border.
This military campaign has led to a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon, with approximately 1.4 million people—over a fifth of the population—displaced due to the ongoing conflict, according to U.N. agencies.