Five Israeli troops killed in Lebanon; Journalists die in strike

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the five soldiers. The fighters were part of Israel’s 89th Brigade and were part of military operations in southern Lebanon, Netanyahu said. Israel is fighting Hezbollah terrorists in the area.

Who were the Israeli soldiers who died?

• Reserve Maj. Dan Maori.

• Reserve Capt. Alon Safra.

• Reserve Sergeant-at-arms Omri Lotan.

• Reserve Sgt. Maj. Guy Idan.

• Reserve Sgt. Maj. Tom Segal.

What was going on in southern Lebanon? In two underground compounds in southern Lebanon, Israeli troops found nearly a dozen truckloads of military supplies, the military said. Those supplies included missiles, missile launchers, grenades, and rifles.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military also conducted strikes on several locations in the Beqaa area of Lebanon, according to a statement. The area harbors a border crossing that Hezbollah uses to supply militants in Syria who have carried out attacks on Israel, the military said. The attacks used precise munitions to minimize the possibility of civilian casualties, the military said.

Lebanese Information Minister Ziad Makary said that three journalists died early Friday as a result of an Israeli attack on a house where they were staying in a southeastern Lebanon town. He named the deceased as photographer Wissam Qassem, photographer Ghassan Najjar, and broadcast engineer Mohammad Reda, all of Al-Manar TV, which is owned and operated by Hezbollah. Makary characterized the attack as a war crime.

Have any new developments occurred in Gaza? The Israeli military claimed credit for the killing of an alleged Hamas militant Mohammad Abu Itiwi. The Israeli military claimed Itiwi led an attack on a bomb shelter on Oct. 7 that resulted in the massacre of Nova music festival partygoers. Itiwi was also responsible for the abduction of several hostages on Oct. 7, the Israeli military said.

Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift from yesterday about the Israeli military accusing the news outlet Al Jazeera of being a Hamas mouthpiece.