Overview
- Israeli military officials said Capt. David Hazutt, 21, a Golani platoon commander from Ashkelon, was shot dead during a building search in Deir Siriane in the early hours of Sunday.
- A second soldier was lightly wounded and evacuated for treatment after the close-range attack, which the IDF says began when a militant fired from a stairwell and initially fled the scene.
- The IDF responded with airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in Deir Siriane and launched extended ground searches that the military later reported resulted in the elimination of the attacker.
- About 2,000 people attended Hazutt’s funeral in Ashkelon, where family and commanders paid tribute to his leadership and the loss added to rising IDF casualty totals in the north.
- The incident underscores shifting battlefield risks for Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, including concealed shooters and new drone threats, and could drive further intensified operations and domestic pressure for changes to tactics.