Israeli military vehicles on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, after a 10-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel went into effect, April 17, 2026. (Credit: Florion Goga/ Reuters)
The Israeli army announced on Sunday the death “in combat” of one of its soldiers in South Lebanon, the second since the ceasefire came into effect on Friday.
Sergeant First Class Lidor Porat, 31, “fell in combat on Saturday in southern Lebanon,” the army said in a statement, adding that nine other soldiers were injured in the same incident: one seriously, four moderately, and four lightly.
According to Israel’s Army Radio (GLZ), the reservist sergeant belonged to Battalion 7106 of the 769th Regional Brigade. He was killed when an Israeli military vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device attributed to Hezbollah near Kfar Kila, in the Marjayoun district.
This is the second time Israel has announced the death of a soldier in southern Lebanon since the cease-fire came into effect on Friday, following a ten-day truce announced by the United States. On Saturday, a 48-year-old reserve commander was also killed in the area, where Israel has established a ten-kilometer-wide “security zone” along its border.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, he was killed during a building search in south Lebanon after an explosive device detonated. The channel’s sources said such explosions are linked to what they describe as “systematic preparations by Hezbollah” in the area, with charges allegedly hidden in walls, pits, or beneath floors and triggered either by pressure mechanisms or remotely. According to these Israeli media sources, it is difficult to fully neutralize this threat, and the army expects Hezbollah to continue “luring its forces into such traps.”
The latest death brings to 15 the number of Israeli soldiers killed in hostilities against Hezbollah, according to an AFP tally based on military figures.
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