Two Soldiers Killed in Hezbollah Attack
Israel’s northern border has been highly unstable over the last months. This post provides the details regarding the events that occurred around the Israel-Lebanon border throughout the last week of January 2015.
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January 28
19:24 PM: The IDF has confirmed that during today’s attack, Hezbollah militants fired 5 anti-tank missiles at the patrolling force near Mt. Dov. One soldier and one officer were killed:
Sergeant Dor Chaim Nini, 20, from Shtulim. He was posthumously .promoted to the rank of Staff Sergeant
Captain Yochai Kalangel, 25, from Har Gilo. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major.
Maj. Kalangel was a company commander in the “Tzabar” Battalion of the Givati Brigade. Staff Sgt. Nini was an infantry soldier. Their families have been notified.
Seven additional IDF soldiers were injured, two of them moderately. The injured soldiers were evacuated to a hospital.
14:20 PM: The IDF has confirmed that two soldiers were killed in this morning’s attack. Additionally, seven other soldiers were wounded, two of them moderately.
13:50 PM: The IDF responded to attacks with combined aerial and ground strikes at Hezbollah operational positions.
Artillery Corps Training
13:36 PM: The IDF holds Hezbollah responsible for the attacks in northern Israel today.
12:51 PM: Mortars hit a military position on Mt. Hermon. The IDF closed the site and is evacuating civilians from the area.
11:35 AM: An anti-tank missile was fired at a military vehicle near Mt. Dov in northern Israel. Several injured in the attack.
The Israel-Lebanon border.
January 27
At least two rockets fired from Syria hit the Golan Heights in northern Israel.
Tourists in and around the Mt. Hermon area were evacuated. IDF forces immediately responded with artillery fire in the direction from which the rockets were launched. Later that day, the IDF targeted Syrian Army artillery posts.
“The IDF holds the Syrian Government accountable for all attacks emanating from its land, and will operate by any means necessary to defend Israeli civilians,” said Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, IDF Spokesman. “Such blatant breaches of Israeli sovereignty will not be tolerated.”
As the civil war rages in Syria, IDF forces have experienced combat in the region, both from targeted strikes and errant fire. Just last week, Lt. Gen. Benjamin “Benny” Gantz spoke of the situation in northern Israel. “IDF forces are closely monitoring the events taking place here [in northern Israel], and are prepared, alert, and ready to act if necessary,” he said.
The Golan Heights are situated between southern Lebanon, southern Syria, and northern Israel. The mountain region has an average altitude of 1,000 meters and spans approximately 1,800 sq. kilometers. Mount Hermon, reaching a height of 2,224 meters, is geostrategically significant in its position commanding a vantage point over southern Lebanon, southern Syria, and northern Israel.
