The military identified the soldier as Master Sergeant Alexander Filin, 29, and said he “fell in combat” during operations in southern Lebanon.

According to a military statement released on Thursday, the incident also left an officer, a reserve officer and a reserve soldier moderately wounded. A combat non-commissioned officer, two reserve soldiers and a female reserve soldier sustained light injuries.

The military did not immediately provide further details regarding the circumstances of the clash or the location where the casualties occurred.

The casualties were reported a day after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding intended to lay the groundwork for ending the broader Middle East conflict. The agreement calls for a halt in fighting across multiple fronts, including Lebanon, where hostilities have persisted for months.

Lebanon became directly involved in the regional conflict after the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement launched rocket attacks against Israel on March 2 in support of Tehran following the outbreak of hostilities involving Iran and its allies.

Israel subsequently expanded military operations in southern Lebanon, carrying out extensive airstrikes and ground offensives that it said were aimed at degrading Hezbollah’s military capabilities and preventing cross-border attacks.

Lebanese authorities say Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 3,800 people since fighting escalated earlier this year. The figures have not been independently verified.

On the Israeli side, military data indicate that 31 soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in connection with operations linked to the conflict since March 2, including the latest fatality.

The death of Filin comes as diplomatic negotiations continue over the future of Israeli troop deployments in southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have said they are engaged in discussions with the United States regarding the possible continuation of military deployments in areas seized during the conflict, while Washington has pushed for broader efforts to stabilize the region under the emerging U.S.-Iran framework.

Despite signs of reduced hostilities in recent days, the latest casualties highlight the continuing risks faced by forces operating in southern Lebanon and the challenges confronting negotiators seeking a durable ceasefire.

Osama Abdullah, head of the village council in Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, said settlers targeted the village’s main mosque during the early hours of the morning, causing damage to an ablution facility and leaving hostile graffiti on the structure.

“Settlers set fire to the ablution room, caused damage to the village’s main mosque, and scrawled hostile slogans on the outer walls,” Abdullah told AFP.

Journalists who visited the site observed extensive smoke and fire damage inside the mosque. The ceiling, walls and flooring were blackened, while Hebrew-language graffiti was visible on exterior surfaces.

Among the inscriptions were slogans reading “vengeance” and “hi from the Hilltop Youth,” a reference to a loosely organized group of Israeli settlers frequently accused by Palestinians and rights organizations of carrying out attacks against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

According to Abdullah, the attackers arrived between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and were unable to enter the mosque because its doors were locked. He said they subsequently set fire to a lower-level room used for ablutions before leaving the area.

The blaze was extinguished by Palestinian civil defense teams with assistance from residents of Jiljiliya and neighboring villages, he added.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the incident.

The attack comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions and increasing reports of settler violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Palestinian officials and international organizations have repeatedly raised concerns over attacks targeting homes, agricultural land, vehicles and religious sites.

The United Nations has recently warned that violence involving Israeli settlers has reached record levels, reporting an average of six incidents per day resulting in casualties, property damage or both.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to approximately three million Palestinians as well as more than 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements outside East Jerusalem.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a position rejected by successive Israeli governments.

Settlement expansion and settler-related violence have become increasingly contentious issues under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which includes several ministers who openly support settlement growth.

Residents of Jiljiliya said the attack has heightened fears within the community, while local leaders called for accountability and protection of religious sites from further violence.

No arrests were immediately reported.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian said Min Zin had been subjected to “criminal compulsory measures” on suspicion of engaging in espionage activities that endanger China’s national security.The ministry did not provide further details about the allegations.

Min Zin founded the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar (ISP-M), which studies political developments, resources and conflict dynamics in Myanmar, a country facing a civil war following a 2021 military coup.Some ISP-M research has examined China’s influence in Myanmar’s border regions, where Beijing has been accused of supporting armed groups aligned with its strategic interests.

It was not immediately clear whether Min Zin was conducting research activities when he was detained.A person with professional ties to ISP-M, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Min Zin was arrested on June 3 at Kunming airport in China’s Yunnan province, which borders Myanmar.Another source with knowledge of the case said Min Zin had travelled to Kunming to attend a meeting.

Chinese authorities said the US consulate in Guangzhou had been informed about the case. The sources said Min Zin’s family and colleagues were in contact with the consulate.Neither the US State Department nor ISP-M had publicly commented on the detention.

ISP-M is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, a city that has become a centre for Myanmar political exiles since the military removed the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.Analysts, including researchers linked to ISP-M, have said China has maintained relations with both Myanmar’s military and armed groups depending on its economic and security interests.

An explosion was heard in the city before a vehicle was seen engulfed in flames, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. Emergency responders and firefighters rushed to the area, where rescuers were observed pulling two people from the targeted car.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that the incident involved “an enemy strike on a car” in the center of Sidon. No immediate information was released regarding casualties or the identities of those inside the vehicle.

Sidon, a major commercial and population center on Lebanon’s Mediterranean coast, has been comparatively less affected than other parts of southern and eastern Lebanon that have experienced repeated Israeli strikes since the escalation of hostilities involving the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and Israel.

The city hosts the country’s largest Palestinian refugee camp and has also received large numbers of people displaced by ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon.

The strike was the latest reported attack on Sidon after an Israeli strike on a building in the city on May 28 killed five people, according to Lebanon’s health ministry.

Separately on Wednesday, the Israeli military said its forces operating in southern Lebanon detained two individuals who approached troops in the area.

In a statement, the military said soldiers identified two “suspected individuals” near positions where Israeli forces were operating. The individuals were apprehended and transferred to Israel for questioning after troops moved to eliminate any potential threat.

The military did not provide further details regarding the identities of the detainees or the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The developments underscore continuing security tensions along the Israel-Lebanon frontier, where military activity and cross-border hostilities have persisted despite international calls for de-escalation.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said the mission will document potential breaches of international human rights and humanitarian law and compile findings for future reporting. He said the team would assess conduct by all sides to the conflict.

“It’s the first time that we are sending this assessment mission, and the idea is indeed to look at violations by all parties — violations of international law, violations of international human rights law, and to document this, and eventually to report back to you on our findings,” Türk said.

The announcement came as Israeli strikes continued across southern Lebanon, including an attack on Wednesday that hit the centre of the city of Sidon, according to an AFP correspondent and Lebanese state media.

The conflict in Lebanon escalated after March 2, when Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, launched rockets toward Israel in solidarity with Iran during heightened regional tensions. Israel responded with a sustained air and ground campaign across southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese authorities and UN accounts cited in the report.

The UN says more than 3,600 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, while over one million people have been displaced since the escalation. Despite a US-announced ceasefire on April 16, Lebanon says hostilities have continued, including nearly 3,500 Israeli strikes since the truce.

The United Nations also warned of worsening humanitarian conditions, estimating that about 1.24 million people in Lebanon could face crisis or emergency levels of food insecurity through August.

Separately on Wednesday, a strike was reported in Sidon, where witnesses said an explosion was followed by a burning vehicle and emergency crews rushing to the scene. The incident underscored the continued volatility in southern Lebanon as international efforts to stabilize the situation remain limited.

The UN assessment mission is expected to focus on documenting incidents across multiple fronts in order to establish an evidentiary record of alleged violations by all parties to the conflict.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces “once again violated Afghanistan’s airspace” and struck civilian homes in multiple eastern provinces, including Kunar, Khost and Paktika. He said 11 children, one woman and one elderly man were among the dead, calling the strikes a breach of sovereignty.

An official in Khost province, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that a house in Spera district was hit, killing nine people and injuring 10 others. In a separate incident in Paktika province’s Barmal district, two residents said another strike killed three civilians, all of them children, after a residential home was targeted.

Neither the government of Pakistan nor its military immediately responded to requests for comment. However, Islamabad has repeatedly stated in the past that such operations target militants responsible for attacks inside its territory and are not directed at civilians.

Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have remained tense since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, with security disputes dominating bilateral ties. Islamabad has accused the Taliban authorities of allowing militants, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from Afghan soil, a charge Kabul has consistently rejected.

The latest strikes come after a brief period of relative calm along the border following months of heightened violence earlier this year, which included cross-border fighting and air operations. A United Nations report cited by AFP previously estimated hundreds of Afghan civilian casualties during earlier phases of the conflict in 2026.

The Pakistan-Afghanistan border has also seen prolonged closures and disruptions to trade following repeated flare-ups in violence, further straining economic and diplomatic engagement between the two countries.

The victim was spearfishing near Michaelmas Island, southeast of Perth, when he was attacked by a shark estimated to be about 4.5 meters (15 feet) long.

Emergency services said the attack was reported at around 11:25 a.m. local time. The man was brought back to shore, where paramedics attempted to revive him, but he died from his injuries.

Western Australia Police confirmed the fatality, while the state’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development urged the public to exercise caution and monitor shark alerts in the area.

The incident comes two weeks after a fatal shark attack in Queensland and follows another deadly attack off Rottnest Island near Perth last month.

Scientists have suggested that warming ocean temperatures and changing shark migration patterns may be contributing to increased encounters between sharks and humans in Australian waters.

The men were among seven villagers trapped in a semi-submerged cave in central Xaysomboun province on May 20 when flash floods blocked the exit. The group had entered the cave while hunting bats and searching for gold in former mining areas.

Five survivors were located alive a week later. One was rescued on May 29, while four others were guided out the following day after rescuers pumped water from the cavern.

Malaysian cave diver Lee Kian Lie, who joined the operation, said unstable conditions near the cave entrance and the increasing danger to rescue personnel forced authorities to halt the search.

“We were so close,” Lee told AFP, adding that the cave had become too hazardous for divers despite improved water levels.

Thai rescue coordinator Kengkad Bongkawong said no further entries into the cave would be permitted because of the risks posed by flooding and unstable structures. Water-pumping operations, however, will continue outside the cave.

Rescuers had stocked food and survival supplies at various points inside the cave in the hope that the missing men might still be alive.Heavy rainfall forecast for the coming days further complicated rescue efforts.

International cave specialists from Malaysia, Finland and Japan participated in the operation, which rescuers described as one of the most challenging cave missions in recent years.

Valizadeh, a former journalist with the U.S.-funded Persian-language broadcaster Radio Farda, was convicted on charges of collaborating with a hostile government, according to his lawyer.

In a voice recording obtained by CBS News, Valizadeh said he and three other U.S. citizens held in Evin prison were suffering from illnesses and lacked access to proper medical treatment.

“While the four of us are suffering from various diseases and are deprived from real medical services, the U.S. government could have at least demanded real medical services for us,” Valizadeh said in the recording.

AFP could not independently verify the authenticity of the message. CBS reported that the recording was made recently after Iranian authorities eased wartime communication restrictions.

Valizadeh’s lawyer, Ryan Fayhee, told CBS that his client suffers from persistent coughing, back pain and dental problems. Fayhee said Valizadeh had also survived an Israeli strike that damaged parts of Evin prison last year.

The appeal comes as Washington and Tehran continue negotiations following the conflict that began after U.S. military action against Iran in February.

Human rights organizations have long criticized conditions in Iranian prisons, citing overcrowding and limited access to food, medicine and healthcare.

The United States said in 2024 it was aware of Valizadeh’s detention and called on Iran to release him.

In an interview with CNN, Aoun said Lebanon was being used as a bargaining chip in Iran’s negotiations with the United States and described such involvement as unacceptable.

Aoun also called on Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group and political movement, to accept diplomacy as the only viable path to resolving its conflict with Israel.

“Hezbollah must understand that there is no other way but to sit and talk,” Aoun said, adding that negotiation was the only means of preserving what remains of the country after years of instability and conflict.

The president’s remarks reflect growing pressure on Hezbollah following months of fighting and come as Aoun continues to advocate for the group’s peaceful disarmament, a position he has maintained since taking office last year.

The comments also underscore widening political divisions in Lebanon, where debates over Hezbollah’s military role and Iran’s influence remain central issues.

On Thursday, Hezbollah rejected a U.S.-mediated ceasefire proposal that had been discussed by Lebanese and Israeli officials. The plan reportedly called for a halt in hostilities and the withdrawal of Hezbollah fighters from southern Lebanon.

Iran has linked a ceasefire in Lebanon to broader negotiations with Washington over the regional conflict that began after U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.