Israeli army says 1 soldier killed on Lebanese border

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army announced on Friday that an officer was killed on the Lebanese border, raising its death toll to 682 since the war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023.

In a statement, the army reported that Reserve Major Valeri Chefonov, 33, was killed during combat in the north, referring to the border with Lebanon.

The latest fatality brought to 682 the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the beginning of the war on the Gaza Strip, according to army data.

The number of soldiers wounded since the beginning of the war has reached 4,149. This includes 2,122 soldiers and officers who were injured in ground battles in the Gaza Strip since the ground operation began on Oct. 27, 2023.

Israel has killed more than 38,000 Palestinians since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas. The military campaign has turned much of the enclave of 2.3 million people into ruins, leaving most civilians homeless and at risk of famine.

Israel is also accused of committing genocide in the besieged Palestinian enclave, and a case is continuing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi