Israeli soldier killed in northern Israel, 7 troops wounded in Hezbollah attacks

An Israeli female soldier was killed and seven troops were wounded on Thursday in explosive drone and anti-tank attacks launched by Hezbollah in northern Israel and southern Lebanon, according to the Israeli army and media.

The Israeli army said in a statement that soldier Rotem Yanai from the Givati Brigade was killed in an explosive drone blast during a military operation near the Shomera settlement in northern Israel.

The statement added that a reserve soldier was seriously wounded and another moderately injured in the attack.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said the drone targeted an Israeli military site near Shomera in the western Galilee close to the Lebanese border.

KAN added that the number of Israeli fatalities since the Lebanon ceasefire took effect in mid-April had risen to 12, including eight killed in Hezbollah explosive drone attacks.

According to the broadcaster, the Lebanese group Hezbollah launched three drones toward Shomera, one of which exploded and caused a fire before two additional drones exploded at the same site.

Three other soldiers were reportedly lightly wounded.

In a separate incident, two Golani Brigade soldiers sustained minor injuries in an anti-tank missile attack during military activity in southern Lebanon.

Israel continues daily violations of the ceasefire agreement announced on April 17 and extended until early July.

Hezbollah has responded to the violations with rocket and drone attacks targeting Israeli troops and military vehicles in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.

In recent weeks, Hezbollah drones have raised growing concern in Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing them as a “major threat” due to the difficulty in detecting them.

Since March 2, Israel has carried out a large-scale offensive in Lebanon that has killed 3,269 people and wounded 9,840 others, in addition to displacing more than 1 million people, according to official figures through Wednesday.

Israel has occupied areas in southern Lebanon, some for decades and others since the 2023-2024 war, while during the current offensive, it advanced around 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) into southern Lebanese territory.

*Writing by Sahin Demir in Istanbul