By Said Amori
JERUSALEM (AA) - Another Israeli officer was killed during a battle in southern Lebanon, the army announced Thursday.
"Captain Ben Zion Falach, 21, of the Paratroopers Brigade’s 202nd Battalion, was killed in a battle in southern Lebanon yesterday (Wednesday),” it said in a statement.
It marks the ninth military death reported by the Israeli army in two days, following the announcement Wednesday of the deaths of eight soldiers, including three officers, along with 30 others who were injured, with one officer in serious condition, during an incursion attempt that began in southern Lebanon.
The number of military fatalities for the Israeli army since Oct. 7, 2023, has risen to 724, with 4,490 injured in Gaza, the West Bank and northern Israel in clashes with Hezbollah, according to official data.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group, Hamas, last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 41,800 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,700 injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul