Six Israeli soldiers were killed in a clash with Hezbollah forces, the IDF announced Wednesday, as Israeli troops pushed deeper into southern Lebanon amid an intensification of violence, even as officials expressed cautious optimism on ceasefire talks.
The clash came as troops moved into the second line of villages across from the border as the IDF said it had further expanded its ground operation in southern Lebanon, It was one of the heaviest single-day losses in the operation that began in late September against Hezbollah.
The slain troops were named as:
They all served in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, the IDF said in a statement.
According to an initial IDF probe, the soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with at least four Hezbollah operatives inside a building in a village in southern Lebanon.