Six IDF commandos were killed in intense combat in southern Lebanon early Wednesday morning, as a detachment of elite Egoz Unit soldiers launched an assault around 4:30 a.m. and encountered Hezbollah terrorists in a building near the border. The soldiers were met with heavy fire from small arms, anti-tank missiles and mortars.
Despite the harsh weather conditions, medical teams and Unit 669 rescue forces, along with ground and air support, worked heroically under heavy fire to evacuate the wounded.
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Sergeant First Class Or Mantzur Captain Harel Etinger, Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, Sergeant First Class Nazaar Itkin, Sergeant First Class Noam Barzilay, Staff Sergeant Ido Broyer, Staff Sergeant Almken Terefe, Captain Itai Ariel Giat
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Two Golani Reconnaissance Unit soldiers were killed by an anti-tank missile in a separate incident. Seven more soldiers were severely wounded.
Poor weather conditions, including heavy fog and total darkness, complicated the operation. The Air Force carried out strikes on nearby roads and buildings, including a mosque where some of the terrorists had fled. The mosque was destroyed in the attack, and at least 30 Hezbollah fighters were reportedly killed. Around 30 Israeli soldiers were wounded in the incident, with several continuing to fight despite their injuries.
Egoz Unit's drone team provided crucial support, guiding forces and launching missiles to fill gaps caused by the low visibility for Air Force aircraft. Earlier encounters on Tuesday saw Egoz commandos eliminate six Hezbollah terrorists without Israeli casualties. Since the beginning of Israel's ground operation on Monday night, the IDF has reported the killing of around 50 Hezbollah terrorists by commando forces.
In the months leading up to the ground assault, Israeli forces had targeted 650 Hezbollah positions in the sector near the Upper Galilee. Despite this, Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force had concealed underground rocket launchers and command centers, waiting for the IDF’s ground incursion.
On Wednesday evening, the IDF named the eight soldiers that were killed in two separate incidents: Captain Harel Etinger, 23, from Eli, and Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster, 22, from Modi'in Maccabim Re'ut, both served as squad commanders in the elite Egoz Unit of the Commando Brigade; Sergeant First Class Noam Barzilay, 22, from Kokhav Ya'ir Tzur Yigal, Sergeant First Class Or Mantzur, 21, from Beit Aryeh-Ofarim, and Sergeant First Class Nazaar Itkin, 21, from Kiryat Ata, all soldiers in the Egoz Unit; Captain Itai Ariel Giat, 23, from Shoham, an officer in the Yahalom Unit of the Combat Engineering Corps; Staff Sergeant Almken Terefe, 21, from Jerusalem, and Staff Sergeant Ido Broyer, 21, from Ness Ziona, served in the Golani Brigade's Reconnaissance Unit.
During the clash that claimed the lives of the six Egoz soldiers, a commando officer and four other soldiers were severely injured. The fighting unfolded as the commando unit entered a building in a Lebanese village near the border, leading to an extended firefight.
The difficult weather and heavy mortar fire made the evacuation and rescue operations highly challenging, with air support providing crucial assistance in isolating the battlefield and extracting the wounded.
Two soldiers were killed, likely by anti-tank missiles or mortar fire. The battle included close-quarters combat with Hezbollah terrorists, supported by tank and artillery shelling from the IDF.
In another incident during the day’s fighting, a Golani Brigade medic from the 51st Battalion was critically injured in northern combat operations.
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