4 Israeli soldiers killed in Lebanon

The Israeli military announced on Monday that four reserve soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon in a suspected operational accident while inspecting a tunnel in the Labbouneh area.

The incident marks the first fatalities in the region since a cease-fire with Hezbollah was implemented 12 days ago.

Names of killed Israeli soldiers

The killed soldiers, all members of the 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade’s 9263rd Battalion, have been identified as:

• Maj. (res.) Evgeny Zinershain, 43, from Zichron Yaakov, a company commander.
• Cpt. (res.) Sagi Ya’akov Rubinshtein, 31, from Lavi, a platoon commander.
• Master Sgt. (res.) Binyamin Destaw Negose, 28, from Beit Shemesh.
• Sgt. First Class (res.) Erez Ben Efraim, 25, from Ramat Gan.

Incident overview

According to an initial investigation by the Israeli army, the soldiers were conducting an operation to inspect a tunnel when a cache of explosives stored in the area detonated.

While the cause of the blast remains under investigation, preliminary findings suggest it was not the result of a Hezbollah booby trap but may have been caused by explosives previously placed there by Israeli forces.