Israel says 2 soldiers killed by Hezbollah during border conflict

JERUSALEM, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) — Two Israeli soldiers were killed on Thursday in cross-border drone and missile attacks carried out by the Lebanese Hezbollah group, the Israeli military said in a statement.
Nael Fwarsy, a 43-year-old company commander, was killed by a drone launched by Hezbollah toward the community of Ya’ara in the Upper Galilee region.
Tomer Keren, a 20-year-old soldier with the Golani Brigade, was killed by an anti-tank missile near the border. Another Golani soldier was severely injured in the incident and evacuated to a hospital.
Fire and rescue services were working to extinguish a fire following the attacks.
Israeli forces fired artillery at what they said was the source of the drone attacks and later launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah positions “to degrade” their capabilities and infrastructure.
The incidents took place amid a sharp escalation following two explosions involving thousands of booby-trapped handheld pagers and radios, resulting in 37 deaths and approximately 3,000 injuries in Lebanon. Hezbollah has attributed these attacks to Israel. ■