Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, killed in Hezbollah drone attack in southern Lebanon; several soldiers wounded

The IDF has cleared for publication that Sgt. Idan Fooks, 19, from Petah Tikva, a soldier in the 77th Battalion of the 7th Brigade, fell during combat in southern Lebanon.

According to the military, during the incident in which Fooks was killed, an officer and three additional soldiers were severely wounded. Another soldier was moderately injured, and one more soldier was lightly hurt.

Details of the incident

According to details released on the incident, the attack took place Saturday morning in the village of A-Taybeh in southern Lebanon, a village in the second line of villages around 4 kilometers from Metula and Misgav Am.

During the morning hours, a tank from an armored company operating under Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion became stuck in the village. After the tank got stuck, the armored force deployed on the ground and was required to deal with the disabled tank in the field.

At around 9:30 a.m., an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah terrorists detonated near the stuck tank and the Golani forces operating in the area.

As a result of the blast, Sgt. Fooks was killed and six additional soldiers were wounded.

Evacuation under fire

An Israeli Air Force helicopter was dispatched to evacuate the casualties to a hospital in Israeli territory. The helicopter landed inside Lebanese territory as rescue forces worked to extract the wounded.

During the evacuation effort, Hezbollah launched two additional explosive drones toward the rescue forces.

The forces intercepted one of the drones, while the second fell very close to the evacuation helicopter, just meters away, as the wounded were being removed from the scene. No additional casualties were reported during the rescue operation, and the helicopter was not damaged.

Ceasefire violation

The IDF has described the incident as a blatant violation of the ceasefire understandings by Hezbollah.

According to the details released, more than 20 such blatant violations have been recorded since the ceasefire began. Over the past week alone, Hezbollah has attacked Israeli forces in southern Lebanon on a daily basis using explosive drones, UAVs, anti-tank missiles, explosive devices and rockets.

Casualties evacuated for treatment

The wounded soldiers were evacuated to a hospital to receive medical treatment, the IDF said.

The military added that the families of all those injured in the incident have been notified.