A civilian was seriously wounded by an anti-tank missile strike on a church near the Christian village of Iqrit in Western Galilee on Tuesday. IDF forces and first responders are attending to the victim at the scene. Upon the arrival of the troops, another anti-tank missile was launched, leading to an intense firefight.
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Shadi Haloul, head of the Aramean-Christian Association in Israel, slammed the Lebanese terrorist group for its indiscriminate targeting of civilians.
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The church in Iqrit hit by Hezbollah anti-tank fire
(Photo: Dr. Avishai Teicher/Wikipedia)
"Hezbollah does not distinguish between Jewish, Christian or any other citizens of Israel - they are all Israelis to them,” he told Ynet.
“It is a terrorist organization akin to ISIS, no different from Hamas, and it uses the Christian civilian population in Lebanon as human shields.
“We have seen this in previous incidents where it has harmed Christians in Lebanon and fired from their homes, which were then damaged by IDF retaliatory strikes."
Meanwhile, an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon hit several chicken coops in the border community of Dovev, causing extensive property damage but no casualties.
Earlier, IDF forces struck targets in Lebanon after multiple incoming threats emanating from the hostile northern neighbor, the IDF reported. Air Force fighter jets reportedly struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure in Lebanese territory, while a tank targeted and neutralized a threat from Lebanon.
Additionally, earlier in the morning, a surface-to-air missile launched from Lebanon aimed at an Air Force aircraft operating in the vicinity. The missile missed, allowing the aircraft to complete its mission successfully.
Earlier, Al Jazeera reported that six rockets were fired from Lebanon toward an IDF border outpost near Mount Dov. Hezbollah claimed responsibility for the attack.
The IDF announced on Tuesday that Staff Sergeant Daniel Nachmani, 21, of the 188th Armored Brigade and a resident of Kfar Saba, passed away due to injuries he sustained during operational activity along the northern border last week. Nachmani was mortally wounded by a rocket fired from Lebanon last Friday.
Earlier, the army reported that Staff Sergeant (res.) Elisha Yehonatan Lober, 24, a soldier of the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade's 8104th Battalion, from Yitzhar and Sergeant First Class (res.) Joseph Gitarts, 25, a soldier of the 179th Reserve Armored Brigade's 7029th Battalion, from Tel Aviv, fell in battle in the southern Gaza Strip.
Lober was killed in a clash with terrorists and Gitarts by anti-tank fire that hit his Namer armored personnel carrier.
In addition, two soldiers and an officer from the 7th Armored Brigade were injured by mortar fire in the southern Gaza Strip. Another reserve soldier was seriously wounded in combat in the northern Gaza Strip.
The total number of IDF casualties in the war stands at 491, with 158 of them killed since the beginning of ground operations in Gaza.