Two Lebanese soldiers, a lieutenant and a first adjutant, were killed Thursday in Naqoura while a military unit was inspecting an Israeli drone that had crashed while carrying an unexploded bomb.
According to preliminary information, the drone was attempting to drop the device on an excavator before crashing. Ambulance teams rushed to the scene to evacuate the injured, while the Lebanese Army secured off the area and opened an investigation into the incident.
Official reactions came swiftly. President Joseph Aoun expressed his “deep sorrow” over the loss, recalling that “the army is once again paying the price of maintaining stability in the South with its blood.” After being briefed on the details of the tragedy by Army Commander General Rodolphe Haikal, the head of state stressed that this was “the fourth deadly incident since the army’s deployment south of the Litani,” noting that the tragedy coincided with the UN Security Council’s renewal of UNIFIL’s mandate and “the international community’s call on Israel to cease its aggressions and withdraw from the territories it occupies.” Aoun extended his condolences to the military institution and to the families of the victims.
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, for his part, reaffirmed “the government’s full solidarity with the military institution,” while Interior Minister Ahmad Hajjar paid tribute to the fallen soldiers in a post on X.
Defense Minister Michel Menassa also offered his condolences to the army and the victims’ families, while wishing the wounded a speedy recovery. He underlined that the army “faces immense challenges without respite and makes the greatest sacrifices to defend stability in the South and safeguard the sovereignty of the country.”
New wave of Israeli strikes in the South
South Lebanon came under a fresh wave of Israeli strikes on Thursday, confirmed by Israeli army radio.
In the afternoon, several locations were targeted around Mahmoudiyeh, on the outskirts of al-Ayshiyeh, near the Khardali river and in Berghoz valley, as well as near a military post in the Khardali area. Raids were also carried out in the vicinity of the towns of Qatrani and al-Jabour.
Another strike hit the surroundings of Zalaaya in West Beqaa.
According to the army radio, the Israeli military said it targeted “several Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites and a rocket launcher across southern Lebanon.”
The escalation comes amid ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah in the region.
Earlier in the day, an Israeli drone dropped a sound bomb on a resident repairing his home in Kfar Kila, before striking the town twice more. Airstrikes also hit a pickup truck and municipal facilities.
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