An IDF officer was killed in a clash with a Hezbollah gunman in southern Lebanon overnight, the military announced Sunday, as clashes continue to strain an agreement between Jerusalem and Beirut to end the conflict. The Hezbollah terror group has rejected the pact.

The slain soldier was named as Cpt. David Hazutt, 21, a platoon commander in the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, from Ashkelon. He was the first Israeli fatality since Israel, Lebanon, and the United States signed a trilateral agreement on Friday aimed at paving the way for a broader peace deal between the two Middle East nations.

According to an IDF probe of the incident, at around 2 a.m., Golani soldiers encountered a Hezbollah operative as they entered a structure in the village of Deir Siryan. During the clash, Hazutt was killed and another soldier was lightly hurt.

The IDF said the wounded soldier was taken to a hospital and his family was notified.

Troops launched searches for the operative and struck Hezbollah sites in the area, the military added.

Lebanese media on Sunday reported an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.

The strike took place near the towns of Deir Siryan and Taybeh, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. Both towns are located inside Israel’s southern Lebanon security zone.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, and the IDF did not immediately comment.

The IDF also said that on Saturday, it struck and killed several Hezbollah operatives who were armed with RPGs and operating close to troops in southern Lebanon.

After the operatives were identified by commandos of the Egoz Unit, the Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on the operatives and the structure they were in in the Nabatieh area, “to remove the threat to the forces,” the military said.

In a separate incident, troops of the Multi-Domain Unit struck and destroyed a Hezbollah rocket launcher that the military said “posed a threat to forces.”

The IDF published footage of the strikes.

במטרה להסיר את האיום: צה"ל חיסל מחבלי חיזבאללה חמושים ב-RPG ותקף משגר במרחב נבטיה כוחות יחידת אגוז בפיקוד אוגדה 36 זיהו אתמול מספר מחבלים חמושים ב-RPG מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, שפעלו במרחב נבטיה בסמוך למרחב הביטחוני בו פועלים כוחות צה"ל בדרום לבנון. Advertisement if(typeof rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner != "function" || !rgb_remove_toi_dfp_banner("#Article_Incontent2")){ window.tude = window.tude || { cmd: []........

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