Drone kills IDF soldier

The Israeli military said yesterday that a soldier was killed the day before by a Hezbollah drone near the Lebanon border, taking to 24 the number of its troops killed in the war with the Iran-backed group.

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A military statement named her as 20-year-old Sergeant Rotem Yanai, who “fell during operational activity in northern Israel”. It added that one reservist soldier was severely injured and another moderately so in the same incident. The military told AFP that Yanai was killed by a Hezbollah explosive drone.

A total of 24 Israelis have been killed since hostilities began on March 2, including 23 soldiers and one civilian contractor.

The Israeli military on Wednesday declared all areas south of Lebanon's Zahrani River — an area roughly 40 kilometres from the border — as “combat zones” and told residents to evacuate ahead of attacks against Hezbollah. The sweeping warning was the first of its kind since an April 17 ceasefire. AFP

The Israeli military had earlier issued evacuation warnings for the southern city of Nabatieh, swathes of Tyre and surrounding areas.