4 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon tunnel explosion

Last Updated on December 11, 2024 5:35 am

Four members of the Israeli army were killed in a tunnel explosion in southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the information in a statement on Monday.

It said that four soldiers from the 9263rd Battalion of the 226th Brigade deployed in southern Lebanon were killed when an underground compound collapsed during operational activities.

The soldiers who died were Major (retd) Evgeny Zinnarshine, Captain (retd) Sagi Yaakov Rubinstein, Master Sergeant (retd) Binyamin Destao Negose and Sergeant First Class (retd) Erez Ben Ephraim.

Explaining the incident, an Israeli army spokesman said that the four soldiers were in a tunnel. At one point, an explosion occurred and the tunnel collapsed. They were all killed. It took 12 hours to recover their bodies.

Among the dead were Zinnershine, a company commander, and Rubinstein, a platoon commander.

Earlier, Israeli media reported the deaths of six Israeli soldiers in Gaza and Lebanon in the past 24 hours.

The death toll in more than a year of fighting in and around Israel’s northern border has reached 80, most of them in cross-border clashes, drone and missile attacks in Israel, and in hand-to-hand fighting during ground operations in the south.

Meanwhile, after more than a year of conflict, Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last month. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the IDF has 60 days to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon. It has been working to drive Hezbollah out of the border area since October. Israel will then hand over control of the area to the Lebanese army.

However, Hezbollah and Iran have accused Israel of violating the agreement 62 times during this ceasefire. Although Israel says its forces have attacked suspected Hezbollah fighters and their weapons shipments.

Source: Mehr News Agency