Overview
- Major (res.) Itamar Sapir, 27, was killed by Hezbollah fire during a building‑clearing operation in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said.
- Israeli media later reported the clash took place in the Kouseh area, where a gunman fired from inside a church at troops positioned outside the compound.
- Sapir served in the IDF’s elite Maglan unit and, in reserve duty, as a deputy company commander in Battalion 7008 of Formation 551.
- He is survived by his wife, Roi (Roni), and their young son, Maayan, and he was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Ra’anana.
- Haaretz counted him as the 21st IDF soldier killed in the current war with Hezbollah, while Binyamin Regional Council figures mark him as the 63rd fallen from their region.