Capt. Eliav Haim Tzapalamus, a combat engineering officer in the IDF’s 603rd Battalion, was killed Thursday when a Humvee overturned during operational activity in southern Lebanon. Three other IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in the incident.
The accident occurred Thursday afternoon in the Litani River area. Tzapalamus, 21, from Haifa, was serving as an engineering officer under the IDF’s 7th Brigade and 36th Division when the military vehicle overturned.
Capt. Eliav Haim Tzapalamus
(Photo: IDF)
The three wounded soldiers were evacuated to a hospital for treatment and their families were notified. The IDF said the circumstances of the accident are under investigation.
Tzapalamus’ death brings the number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the war to 971.
The accident follows several other fatal operational incidents in recent months. Last month, Master Sgt. (res.) Nadav Kali, 24, from Har Halutz, and Master Sgt. (res.) Ofek Moalem, 23, from Jerusalem, both soldiers in Battalion 7007 of the 16th Brigade, were killed when an IDF drone exploded in the northern Gaza Strip. An initial investigation found that the two were killed as a result of an operational malfunction involving the drone.
About six weeks earlier, Maj. Harel Birenstock, 34, from Nokdim, and Master Sgt. Tamir Vaknin, 33, from Eilat, were killed by an explosive device in the village of Majdal Zoun in southern Lebanon. Birenstock was a company commander and Vaknin a combat medic in Battalion 2855 of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade.
In another operational accident in June, Master Sgt. (res.) Basil Sweid, 32, from Peki’in, was killed when a military fuel truck overturned in the Rab Thalathin area of southern Lebanon. Another IDF soldier was moderately wounded in that crash.
First published: 21:10, 10.08.26