IDF announces death of officer, several soldiers wounded in Hezbollah’s largest attack so far

After Hezbollah fired a massive barrage of some 200 rockets and 20 drones at Israel on Thursday, Israel Defense Forces announced that an IDF officer was killed, and several others wounded, from rocket impacts.

The fallen soldier was identified as Maj. (res.) Itay Galea (38), a deputy company commander in the Yiftah Reserve Armored Brigade, from Ramat Gan. The army hasn’t yet specified how many other soldiers were wounded or how serious their injuries were.

According to Army Radio, Galea initially fought in the Gaza Strip before his unit was transferred to the north, where he was killed in a volley of rockets that hit the Golan Heights.

At least 25 Israelis have been killed in the ongoing low-level war in northern Israel so far, including 15 IDF soldiers and 10 civilians.

I'm in Israel which has just been hit with the heaviest Hezbollah barrage since start of the war: 160 rockets & 15 UAVs launched from Lebanon in 1 hour. Two women slightly injured, fires breaking out across Galilee and Golan.

In Geneva, the UNHRC is in session. They are silent. pic.twitter.com/8fH3ENyzCd

— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 4, 2024

Hezbollah said its attack, probably the largest single barrage it has fired since Oct. 7, was a response to Israel’s targeted killing of Muhammad Naamah Nasr, who commanded the “Aziz” unit, responsible for Hezbollah’s western sector, located adjacent to the border in southern Lebanon.

While the barrage mostly landed in open areas, the explosions caused numerous wildfires to ignite across the Golan Heights and the northern Galilee.

Footage shows the Iron Dome shrapnel hitting the roof of a mall in Acre earlier today. https://t.co/lKOIgYoce1 pic.twitter.com/4gr3jNRGDp

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 4, 2024

The IDF, in response, initiated several waves of airstrikes against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon on Thursday and throughout the night leading up to Friday morning.

Israeli Air Force (IAF) fighter jets began by striking military structures in four different areas simultaneously, including in Kantra, Rab al-Thalathin, Deir Sirin and Talusa, as well as another infrastructure near a-Naqoura.

A wave of strikes in Mais al-Jabal and Ayta al-Sha’ab then followed before the IAF struck more targets overnight in the areas of al-Jibin and Kafr Hammam.

On Thursday, Lebanese media aired footage from the burial ceremony of the slain Hezbollah commander, Muhammad Naamah Nasr, with several high-ranking Hezbollah officials present.

The head of the terror group’s executive council, Hashem Safi al-Din, said: “The response to the killing of Abu Naamah began yesterday and was rapid, and today the series of responses continues in sequence until this hour and will continue further. They were aimed at places that Israel never imagined would be hit.”

“Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and dozens of drones that hit important targets and what is certain is that there are many casualties among the dead and wounded in the enemy’s ranks,” Safi al-Din added.

Despite the escalation of attacks by Hezbollah and the heated rhetoric on both sides in recent weeks, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Kassem said Friday that in his estimation, there will be no war between Israel and Lebanon in the foreseeable future, according to the KAN news site.