Israel army says soldier killed in south Lebanon fighting

This picture taken from a position in northern Israel on the border with southern Leabanon shows an Israeli soldier taking position on the balcony of a building on May 31, 2026. Israel's military said on May 31 its forces were advancing in Lebanon as part of expanded ground operations to strengthen its military position in the south of the country, where it is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The Israeli army announced that one of its soldiers had been killed on Monday in fighting in southern Lebanon, bringing to 26 the number of Israeli military deaths since early March.

Staff Sergeant Adam Tzarfati, 20, “fell in combat in southern Lebanon”, the army said in a brief statement.

An Israeli military source told AFP that the soldier was killed in a Hezbollah drone attack.

In total, 26 Israelis have been killed, 25 soldiers and one civilian contractor, since hostilities between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah resumed on March 2, when the Shiite militant group reopened the front in support of Tehran, following US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

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