They are Command Sergeant Major (res.) Mordechai Haim Amoyal, 42, from Lod; Sergeant Major (res.) Shmuel Harari, 35, from Safed; Master Sergeant (res.) Shlomo Aviad Nayman, 31, from Mitzpe Yeriho; and Sergeant First Class (res.) Shuvael Ben-Natan, 22, from Rehelim, all serving in the 222nd Battalion of the 2nd "Carmeli" Brigade.
The incident occurred while the forces were approaching a Shiite village in the western sector, where they were preparing to engage and clear the area of Hezbollah's Radwan force. At around 6:50 pm, terrorists emerged from a concealed tunnel shaft and launched an attack on the troops. Six soldiers were injured in the incident, three of them seriously.
Additionally, on Thursday, a commander from the 75th Armored Battalion was critically injured by an anti-tank missile in Lebanon. A reservist from the 7155th Paratroopers Battalion was wounded in an encounter with terrorists, and a reservist from the 6226th Reconnaissance Battalion sustained shrapnel injuries in the north. All injured personnel were evacuated to hospitals via air and ground transport, and their families have been notified.
Since the ground operation commenced on September 30, a total of 21 soldiers have fallen in Lebanon. Despite prior airstrikes in the area, militants were able to find shelter underground. As the soldiers advanced on foot through the bushes, they were targeted with fragmentation grenades, resulting in casualties.
In response, Israeli forces returned fire, utilizing grenades and targeting the militants' concealed positions. Following the incident, Division 146, responsible for that combat zone, intensified operations to eliminate the militants, with heavy aerial and artillery fire directed at the area.