The burnt-out wreckage of a car sits on a road outside the village of Kfar Tebnit, four miles north of the Litani River. Inside, the bodies of three Lebanese soldiers — including a brigadier-general. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it launched an investigation after confirming it attacked the vehicle, which it claimed was “moving suspiciously towards forces” in an “active and evacuated combat zone” where gunfire had been reported.
The Lebanese Army reacted furiously, accusing Israel of “aggressive and barbaric” strikes and “brutal, deliberate and repeated aggression”. The victims were identified as Brig Gen Samer Sabra, Cpt Elie Khoury, and Pte Hassan Ghazal. The IDF insisted its forces “are operating against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation, not against the Lebanese Army”, and said troop movements in the area require coordination with the IDF.
“Three Lebanese soldiers including a brigadier-general killed in Israeli strike, prompting furious response from Beirut.”
Israel has been fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah since March, primarily in southern Lebanon, from where the group has launched rocket and drone attacks into northern Israel. Over the weekend, the IDF said it struck around 150 Hezbollah “infrastructure sites” in the region, including weapon storage sites and command centres. The attack on the army vehicle came on a road close to the city of Nabatieh, an area of intense fighting and displacement in recent months.
The strike adds a new dimension to already fraught ceasefire efforts. Hezbollah’s leader Naim Qassem recently rejected a US-backed deal that would have seen Israel refrain from attacking Hezbollah positions in Beirut if the group did not attack Israel, and provided for “pilot” security zones in southern Lebanon. Qassem called the talks “futile”. Lebanon’s government, which is not in direct conflict with Israel, wants a ceasefire to allow its own forces to disarm Hezbollah — but Israel has previously accused Beirut of lacking the ability to do so.
The Lebanese government has now demanded an end to the fighting on its territory, which has previously included major air strikes on the capital, Beirut.