IDF soldier severely wounded as Hezbollah drones target troops in southern Lebanon

Army fires interceptors at drones as ceasefire sees continued attacks on Israeli soldiers; IDF probing officer who let soldiers into combat zone to recite Kaddish

Hezbollah launched several drones at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, a day after a soldier was severely wounded in a similar incident, the military said.

Interceptor missiles were fired at two suspected Hezbollah drones Tuesday morning after being spotted over areas of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed amid a ceasefire, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

Meanwhile, the IDF announced that a soldier was severely wounded and another was lightly hurt in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack the day before.

The soldiers were taken to a hospital and their families were notified, the army said.

The IDF said the attacks were “violations of the ceasefire understandings by the Hezbollah terror group.”

On Sunday, Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, was killed and six other soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah explosive drone strike in southern Lebanon.

The Iran-backed terror group has made frequent use of small FPV drones in its attacks on Israeli troops in recent weeks.

Some of the drones are guided using a spool of fiber optic cable, which mitigates efforts to electronically jam their signal. According to military officials, the FPV drones have ranges of up to 15 kilometers.

Read more: Fatal Hezbollah attack exposes gaps in IDF preparedness for first-person view drones

The incidents came despite an ongoing ceasefire in Lebanon, which US President Donald Trump said last week would be extended by three weeks while noting that Israel could carry out strikes in Lebanon in self-defense.

Separately, the IDF opened an investigation after the commander of the Givati Infantry Brigade allowed four soldiers to enter the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil for “non-operational purposes” last week.

The four — three reservists and one soldier from the standing army — are bereaved family members whose relatives were killed in Bint Jbeil in previous wars.

Col. Netanel Shamaka allowed the four to enter Bint Jbeil to recite Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, even though Hezbollah operatives were still holed up in the town.

In response to a query the IDF said the soldiers were “brought into southern Lebanon for non-operational purposes” and their entry was carried out “without authorization from the relevant authorities.”

Bint Jbeil, located in the Israeli-held security zone in southern Lebanon, has seen intense fighting during the war. The IDF assessed that, as the ceasefire took effect, several Hezbollah operatives remained holed up in the town after more than 100 were killed during the fighting there in recent weeks.

On Monday, while speaking at a conference of senior officers, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir mentioned the incident, saying Shamaka “is an excellent brigade commander, but made a mistake. There is a risk in this area. It is still a combat zone.”

“You [tried to do a good thing], and in the end, another bereaved family will also want to enter and recite Kaddish at the place where their son fell,” Zamir added, according to Army Radio.

The US-mediated ceasefire, which started on April 16, was extended for an additional three weeks, Trump announced last week during talks in Washington between Israel and Lebanon, despite continued cross-border violence.

Since Hezbollah began firing at Israel on March 2, breaking a ceasefire reached in November 2024, two Israeli civilians have been killed in the attacks and 16 IDF soldiers have died fighting in Lebanon.

Lebanon’s health ministry says that more than 2,500 people have been killed in Israeli strikes during the same period, a figure that does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The IDF has said that it has killed over 1,900 Hezbollah operatives since hostilities escalated.