A Hezbollah missile and drone strike in northern Israel killed two Israel Defense Forces soldiers and left nine others injured Thursday — as US and French officials warned that the escalation could sink the already troubled Gaza cease-fire and hostage negotiations.
Following the massive pager and radio bombings against thousands of Hezbollah operatives earlier this week, the terror group launched a series of retaliatory strikes over the border that killed IDF Maj. Nael Fwarsy, 43, and Sgt. Tomer Keren, 20.
Fwarsy was stationed in western Galilee when an explosive-laden drone blew up, killing him and injuring another soldier, the IDF said.
Keren was in a separate unit in Galilee when Hezbollah fired two anti-tank missiles that hit the company, wounding Keren and eight others.
The 20-year-old was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries, according to the Israeli military.
The soldiers’ deaths came as Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Thursday that coincided with Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah’s speech denouncing the pager attacks and vowing revenge against the Jewish state.
The fresh strikes represent the latest escalation in the near-daily attacks between the IDF and Hezbollah, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning both sides to avoid all-out war lest it doom the US-backed cease-fire talks in Gaza.
“We don’t want to see any escalatory actions by any party,” Blinken said during his meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron’s administration.
“France and the United States are united in calling for restraint and urging de-escalation when it comes to the Middle East in general and when it comes to Lebanon in particular,” Blinken added.
Macron echoed the calls for de-escalation during a call with Lebanon’s top political and military officials on Thursday.
It remains unclear if the warnings will be heeded as Israeli officials have reiterated that they are prepared for a two-front war with Hezbollah, which began attacking the Jewish state on Oct. 8 in solidarity with Hamas.
The terror group has vowed revenge against Israel over the pager and walkie-talkie attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday that killed at least 20 people and left more than 3,200 injured.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also promised to join in the attack after Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, was injured in Tuesday’s attack.
“Such terrorist acts are undoubtedly the result of the Zionist regime’s (Israel) despair and successive failures,” IRGC commander Hossein Salami told Hezbollah, according to Iranian state media.
“This will soon be met with a crushing response from the axis of resistance and we will witness the destruction of this bloodthirsty and criminal regime,” Salami added.
