By Six Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, marking the deadliest day for Israeli forces in their ongoing campaign against Hezbollah since ground operations began in September.
The soldiers, members of the elite Golani Brigade, “fell during combat in southern Lebanon,” the military said, bringing the total Israeli military casualties in Lebanon to 47 since September 30. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the loss by sharing the brigade’s olive tree symbol on social media platform X with a broken heart emoji.
The deaths came as Israel’s new Defense Minister Israel Katz pledged an unrelenting offensive against Hezbollah. “We will make no cease-fires, we will not take our foot off the pedal, and we will not allow any arrangement that does not include the achievement of our war objectives,” Katz declared during his first visit to the border region since his appointment.
Earlier Wednesday, an Israeli strike hit Aramoun, south of Beirut, killing six people in an area outside Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds, according to the health ministry. Lebanese state media reported a third wave of Israeli raids on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold within 24 hours.
Hezbollah claimed it responded by firing ballistic missiles at the Israeli army’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, though Israeli military spokespersons declined to comment on the allegation.
The escalating violence has taken a mounting toll on both sides. Lebanese authorities report more than 3,360 deaths since October 8, 2023, when cross-border clashes intensified following Hamas’s attack on Israel. In northern Israel, rocket fire from Lebanon Tuesday killed two residents of Nahariya, bringing civilian casualties there to 45.
The conflict has expanded beyond direct military engagement. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad released video Wednesday of Israeli hostage Sasha Trupanov, held in Gaza. His mother, Lena, urged immediate release through the Hostage and Missing Families Forum.
The broader regional conflict continues to exact a devastating toll. Of approximately 250 hostages taken during Hamas’s October 7 attack, about 100 remain captive, with a third confirmed dead. Hamas’s initial assault killed about 1,200 people in Israel.
In Gaza, where the conflict has raged for over 13 months, the Hamas-run health ministry reports nearly 44,000 deaths, with more than half being women and children. The ministry does not differentiate between civilian and combatant casualties.
Israel’s military objectives include disarming Hezbollah and pushing its forces beyond Lebanon’s Litani River, goals that have led to intensified operations in traditionally civilian areas. The army reported intercepting “five projectiles” from Lebanon on Wednesday, highlighting the ongoing nature of cross-border exchanges.
