Overview
- Katz, a 22-year-old paratrooper from New Haven, Connecticut who was killed Saturday in southern Lebanon, was buried Sunday night at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem with hundreds in attendance.
- The IDF said three other soldiers were moderately wounded in the same attack and evacuated for treatment, and it posthumously promoted Katz from corporal to sergeant.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered condolences to Katz’s family and said he instructed the military to expand operations in Lebanon to push anti-tank missile fire away from Israel’s border.
- The military reported further losses in the following engagements, including the death of Sgt. Liran Ben Zion, 19, from anti-tank missile fire that also left an armored corps officer seriously wounded.
- An officer and three Nahal Brigade soldiers were later killed in a close-quarters clash near the Lebanese village of Beit Lif, underscoring how Hezbollah’s rockets, drones, and anti-tank weapons are driving deeper Israeli operations.