The military identified the soldier as Sergeant Major Alexander Glovanyov, 47, who was killed on Sunday in fighting close to the Israel-Lebanon frontier.
His death brings the number of Israeli military personnel killed since the conflict with Hezbollah intensified in early March to 18, according to Israeli military figures. One Israeli civilian contractor has also been killed during the hostilities.

Fighting has continued in southern Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement signed between Israel and Lebanon on April 17 that was intended to halt cross-border exchanges of fire and reduce the risk of a broader regional escalation.

Hezbollah entered the conflict on March 2 after launching rockets into Israel, saying the attacks were retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in joint U.S.-Israeli strikes, according to statements from the group.

Israel responded with extensive airstrikes and later expanded operations into a ground campaign in southern Lebanon.

Israeli forces are currently operating behind what the military describes as a “yellow line,” an Israeli-declared security zone extending roughly 10 kilometers north of Lebanon’s border.

The latest casualty announcement came as smoke was seen rising from areas in southern Lebanon following reported Israeli airstrikes targeting the village of Choukine, according to AFP images from the region.

The ongoing exchanges have heightened concerns that fighting between Israel and Hezbollah could evolve into a wider regional confrontation involving Iran and allied armed groups across the Middle East.

Diplomatic efforts led by international mediators have so far failed to fully enforce the ceasefire or secure a durable de-escalation along the volatile frontier.

The Israeli military said the Wednesday strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs killed the commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force unit, escalating tensions despite a truce that began on April 17 and was intended to halt weeks of cross-border fighting.

Lebanese state media reported renewed Israeli strikes on several towns and villages in southern Lebanon on Thursday, while the Israeli army issued evacuation warnings for residents in three villages north of the Litani River, beyond areas occupied by Israeli ground forces.

In the southern city of Nabatieh, strikes hit a shopping center and nearby residential buildings, according to Lebanese state media and an AFP correspondent at the scene.Airstrikes also targeted the nearby village of Toul, where two emergency responders affiliated with Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Committee were wounded while responding to an earlier strike, spokesperson Mahmoud Karaki said.

Karaki said the team’s ambulance sustained heavy damage in the attack.Photographs from Beirut’s southern suburbs showed upper floors of a residential building destroyed, with rescue teams continuing search operations through the debris on Thursday morning.

Despite the strike on its stronghold near the Lebanese capital, Hezbollah has not announced retaliatory action.The Israeli military separately said four Israeli soldiers were wounded on Wednesday, one seriously, after what it described as an “explosive drone impact” in southern Lebanon.

Although the ceasefire formally halted major hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, exchanges of fire and Israeli airstrikes have continued in southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah has periodically claimed attacks against Israeli forces stationed in border areas.

The conflict intensified after fighting erupted on March 2, drawing Lebanon deeper into regional tensions linked to the broader confrontation involving Iran and its allied groups.According to Lebanese authorities, more than 2,700 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict began.

Israel’s military says 17 soldiers and one civilian contractor have died during operations in southern Lebanon.

The warning was issued by the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson Avichay Adraee, who said civilians should leave areas near Hezbollah positions, facilities and weapons.

“The military does not intend to harm you, and out of concern for your safety, you are required to evacuate your homes immediately and move away from the specified area toward the Sidon District,” Adraee said in a post on X.“Anyone present near Hezbollah elements, their facilities or their weapons is endangering their life,” he added.

The areas listed in the evacuation warning were located outside or along the edge of the so-called “Yellow Line,” a roughly 10-kilometer-deep strip of Lebanese territory along the border where Israeli troops are currently operating.

The warning came as tensions continued despite a ceasefire agreed earlier this month between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, with both sides accusing each other of repeated violations.

On Tuesday morning, the Israeli military said it launched interceptors in two separate incidents against what it described as suspicious aerial targets detected in areas where Israeli forces were operating in southern Lebanon.It said the targets did not cross into Israeli territory.

The military also said one Israeli soldier was seriously wounded and another lightly injured on Monday after an explosive drone struck during operational activity in southern Lebanon.“This incident constitutes a violation of the ceasefire understandings by the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the military said in a statement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Hezbollah’s rockets and drones remained a major threat requiring continued military action, adding that Israeli strikes would persist.

Hezbollah entered the wider Middle East conflict on March 2 by launching rockets toward Israel, saying the attack was in retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Since then, the cross-border fighting has displaced large numbers of civilians in southern Lebanon and northern Israel, while international mediators have struggled to preserve the ceasefire and prevent a broader regional escalation.