Soldier killed in northern Israel by Hezbollah drone from Lebanon

Two other soldiers reportedly hurt in attack, including one in serious condition; IDF releases video of UAV wounding combat military photographer in south Lebanon earlier in week

A soldier was killed Friday by a drone near the Lebanese border, the Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday.

The slain soldier was named as Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, 23, a technology and maintenance soldier in the 401st Brigade, from Atlit in northern Israel.

Another soldier was reportedly seriously wounded and a non-commissioned officer was lightly hurt in the same incident. Both were evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

A second explosive drone was said to have fallen in the same area of northern Israel roughly 25 minutes later, causing no injuries.

Hamburger is the ninth IDF soldier to be killed in southern Lebanon since the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which has largely unraveled after being announced last month. He is the 22nd to be killed since hostilities between Israel and the terror group escalated amid the Iran war. A civilian contractor was also killed in southern Lebanon.

As the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah continued, the Lebanese terror group said Saturday that Iran assured it Tehran would not abandon Hezbollah and that the Islamic Republic’s latest proposal to end the US-Iran war included a ceasefire in Lebanon.

A Hezbollah statement said its leader, Naim Qassem, received a message from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, which indicated that Iran “will not give up its support for movements demanding justice and freedom, foremost among them Hezbollah.”

In Iran’s latest proposal through Pakistani mediators aimed at achieving “a permanent and stable end to the war, the demand to include Lebanon in the ceasefire was emphasized,” the statement added.

Also on Saturday, the IDF released footage of a combat military photographer who was seriously wounded earlier in the week by a Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon.

According to the military, the officer, whom the military identified by the Hebrew letter Shin, had joined troops of the 601st Battalion in the 401st Brigade during an operation in the area of the Lebanese town of Haddatha, aimed at locating and dismantling Hezbollah terror infrastructure and weapons caches.

During the operation, troops discovered a weapons depot apparently belonging to the terror group’s elite Radwan Force, which contained more than 20 weapons, the IDF said. Shin documented the scene.

About an hour later, while forces were still operating near the site, two explosive drones were launched at the troops and detonated nearby, wounding seven soldiers.

Among the wounded were Shin, who was seriously hurt, and the company commander, a captain who sustained moderate injuries. Three additional soldiers were moderately wounded and two others suffered light injuries, according to the military.

Separately, Lebanon’s military said an Israeli strike on Saturday targeted an army barracks in the south, wounding a soldier.

The Lebanese army said in a statement that “a soldier was moderately wounded due to the hostile Israeli targeting of an army barracks in the city of Nabatieh.”

The IDF later said the strike targeted a suspicious vehicle that exited a Hezbollah site in the Nabatieh area.

According to the military, troops identified the vehicle “driving suspiciously,” leading Israeli forces “to remove the threat.”

The IDF said it was aware of reports that a Lebanese army soldier was wounded in the attack and that the incident was under investigation.

“The IDF emphasizes that it operates against the Hezbollah terror organization only and not against the Lebanese army,” the military added.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.