The Israeli army announced today the first death in combat of its serviceman since the ground operation in Lebanon began two days ago, reported the Associated Press and France Press, quoted by BTA.
A twenty-two-year-old commando was killed in combat on Lebanese territory, the Israel Defense Forces said. "Captain Eitan Yitzhak Oster, 22 years old, fell in action in Lebanon," said the army's announcement, quoted by AFP.
The Lebanese army, in turn, announced today that an Israeli drone targeting one of its units in southern Lebanon wounded one of its servicemen, AFP informs.
"A soldier was wounded by the Israeli enemy in a drone attack while a unit was trying to clear the Marjayoun-Hasbayah road, blocked by destruction after bombings, the Lebanese army wrote on the social platform X.
Two days ago, it was reported about the death of a Lebanese soldier in an Israeli strike, AFP recalls.
In addition, the Lebanese army said that Israel's ground troops crossed the UN-demarcated demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon, known as the "blue line", for the first time, DPA reported.
Israeli units entered 400 meters into Lebanese territory, in the area of the village of Yarun, and then withdrew, the agency said.
Hours earlier, the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah, whose shelling of northern Israel prompted the Israeli ground operation, said they had engaged in their first direct clash with the Israeli army. Israeli forces confirmed in a statement that it was the first close combat in their operations in southern Lebanon.
The UN established the "blue line" in 2000 and began overseeing the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon. "The Blue Line" is a temporary border between Lebanon and Israel, because the two countries have not finally agreed on their border territories, DPA points out.
According to a 2006 UN resolution, Israeli troops must be deployed behind the "blue line".