Five elite Golani Brigade soldiers were killed on Wednesday during an intense firefight in a southern Lebanese village near the Israeli border, the IDF reported on Thursday.
Among the fallen, all of the Golani Brigade Reconnaissance Unit, were Maj. Ofek Bachar, 24, a company commander, from Nes Ziona; Capt. Elad Siman Tov, 23, a platoon commander, from Tzofim; Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder, 22, a squad commander, from Jerusalem; Staff Sgt. Yaakov Hillel, 21, from Jerusalem; and Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, 21, from Hebron.
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Maj. Ofek Bachar, Capt. Elad Siman Tov, Staff Sgt. Yehudah Dror Yahalom, Staff Sgt. Elyashiv Eitan Wieder and Staff Sgt. Yaakov Hillel
According to an initial IDF probe, the Golani Reconnaissance Unit entered a multi-story building in a Lebanese village near the western sector of the border at around 5 p.m. The mission was based on intelligence reports indicating the presence of terrorist infrastructure. As the unit approached, the building came under aerial fire.
Roughly 30 minutes into the search, during which the soldiers discovered several weapons caches and underground positions, gunfire erupted from a stairwell. Four Hezbollah terrorists, who had concealed themselves in the building, opened fire at close range. The ensuing firefight resulted in the deaths of the five soldiers, including the company commander. The Golani troops returned fire, killing the terrorists.
Three soldiers were pronounced dead at the scene, while two others later succumbed to their injuries at the hospital. Five additional soldiers were wounded, including the company's deputy commander, with three sustaining serious injuries.
Air support provided cover fire, allowing medevac helicopters to extract the casualties to a hospital in Israel within an hour. The IDF is now investigating how the Hezbollah terrorists evaded detection during the building sweep, despite the soldiers' professional conduct.
Golani Brigade forces have been operating in southern Lebanon for two weeks, initially in the village of Maroun al-Ras before expanding to other areas to neutralize Hezbollah's Radwan forces, which pose an invasion threat to northern Israel. The troops have uncovered and destroyed advanced Hezbollah weaponry near the border and killed more than 10 Hezbollah militants in recent days.
In separate incidents, a soldier from the Golani Brigade's 12th Battalion and a reservist officer from the 6th Brigade's 8173rd Battalion were seriously wounded in fighting in southern Lebanon. Two additional reservists from the 8173rd Battalion were also wounded.
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