Two Israel Defense Forces troops were killed and seven soldiers wounded after an Israeli army patrol came under anti-tank fire from Hezbollah operatives in the northern Mount Dov region, along the border with Lebanon, according to an IDF spokesman.
Communities and IDF troops in the north of Israel were on high alert following the attack.
Speaking from a Chabad center located only steps away from an IDF base in Metulla, Israel’s northernmost town, Brocha Leah Sasonkin, who co-directs the center with her husband, Rabbi Moshe Sasonkin, spoke about the latest outbreak of violence: “When it happened, they told us to go home and close the doors and windows for an hour. But now they say it’s OK to go outside.”
The attack happened 20 minutes away from the Chabad center.
Sasonkin said she was particularly concerned about reported casualties among IDF troops stationed in the area. “We go on mivtzoyim all the time, helping the soldiers with their spiritual and material needs, and have soldiers over for meals every Shabbat. We have soldiers coming to our shul because we live right near the base, right above our home.”
The soldiers killed were identified as Maj. Yohai Kalangel, 25, from Har Gilo, a company commander; and Staff Sgt. Dor Haim Nini, 20, from Shtulim. They served together in the Givati brigade.
Expressing her pain at learning of those killed and injured, Sasonkin also urged both “prayer for the welfare of the troops and residents, may G‑d protect every one of them,” as well as “faith in G‑d’s biblical declaration that the Land of Israel remains the safest place in the world, and G‑d will protect us.”
Hezbollah acknowledged that it carried out the attack on the convoy, as well as launched mortar attacks from Syria on Tuesday. Israel fired shells into southern Lebanon after today’s attack, while Israeli air-force jets struck Syrian-army artillery positions in retaliation for rockets launched in the area.
This comes amid heightened tension 10 days after an Israeli airstrike in Syria killed an Iranian general and several Lebanese Hezbollah fighters who were reportedly planning large-scale attacks on Israel.
Since then, troops and civilians in northern Israel and the Golan Heights have been on alert. The Israeli military has also deployed an Iron Dome rocket interceptor near the Syrian border.
