Another Israeli officer succumbs to injuries sustained in southern Lebanon

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army announced on Friday that an officer had died from injuries sustained during battles in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the Israeli army identified the officer as 39-year-old Maj. (Res.) Guy Shabtai, who succumbed to severe wounds he had sustained on Oct. 26, during a combat in southern Lebanon.

With this death, the Israeli army’s toll has reached 781 soldiers, with 368 fatalities from the ground offensives in Gaza.

The army also reported that 5,292 soldiers have been injured since the war began, including 2,404 during the ground battles in Gaza.

The statistics include casualties from Gaza, the West Bank, southern Lebanon, and Israel.

A massive Israeli air campaign in Lebanon has been ongoing since late September against what it claims are Hezbollah targets, an escalation in year-long cross-border warfare since the start of the Gaza war.

More than 3,100 people have been killed and over 13,800 injured in Israeli attacks since October 2023, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel launched a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi.