The IDF reported Monday that Chief Warrant Officer Mahmood Amaria, 45, a tracker in the 300th "Baram" Regional Brigade, from Ibtin, was killed in a Hezbollah drone strike in the Western Galilee.
Amaria was struck by one of two explosive-laden drones that infiltrated Israeli airspace from Lebanon, the military said. Another person was seriously injured in the attack.
The assault began in the early morning, with at least five drones launched by Hezbollah. The IDF said it intercepted three of the drones, but two managed to explode inside Israel—one near Kibbutz Gesher Haziv and the other in Ya'ara, where Amaria was killed. Meanwhile, missiles were fired at the Upper Galilee.
In response, the IDF launched strikes on southern Lebanon, reportedly killing at least two Hezbollah operatives, according to Lebanese media.
"This was a scene of an air battle," said Gabi Na'aman, mayor of the northern border town of Shlomi. "This is war, with all it entails. Our lives are disrupted from dawn to dawn. How long can this go on?"