The day before Israel renewed strikes against Hezbollah, two IDF reservists were killed, and four others were seriously wounded when an explosive device detonated inside a house during a combat mission, as the Jerusalem Post reports. Israel said the incident was linked to one of Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations.
IDF Maj. (res.) Harel Birenstock and Master-Sgt. (res.) Tamir Vaknin were killed, and four other soldiers were seriously wounded, during an operation in the southern Lebanese village of Majdal Zoun, an area that had not yet been inspected by the IDF and is not included in the pilot zones established under the trilateral agreement between Israel, the United States, and Lebanon.
The troops were killed after entering a booby-trapped building, where an explosive device detonated upon their entry, causing part of the structure to collapse.
Separately, Walla reported on Thursday that upon learning of the deadly incident in southern Lebanon, Defense Minister Israel Katz questioned why soldiers entered the booby-trapped building.
Katz asked why troops had entered the structure and requested that operational directives be reinforced in line with his policy, emphasizing the destruction of terrorist infrastructure rather than entering such buildings.
The IDF is concerned that Hezbollah may have booby-trapped additional buildings in villages where Israeli soldiers remain deployed. It has been reported that the IDF has located and dismantled thousands of Hezbollah infrastructure sites over the past several months.
Following the incident, the IDF had originally planned a broader attack on Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon. However, the United States reportedly sought to contain further escalation, resulting in the limited precision strikes that were carried out yesterday.
The Fellowship is saddened by the deaths of Birenstock and Vaknin. We and our supporters are praying for their families during this difficult time. We also pray for the safety of IDF troops serving in southern Lebanon as they face the growing threat of explosive-rigged buildings –and that talks in Rome open pathways to solutions.