The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit cleared for publication that Captain Maoz Israel Recanati of Itamar, a platoon commander in the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, fell in battle in southern Lebanon. He was 24. Recanati is the 20th IDF soldier killed in Lebanon since the start of Operation Roaring Lion and the seventh since the ceasefire began.
Recanati is survived by his parents and six siblings. The Samaria Regional Council said he was engaged to Rani, who studied with him at the seminary in the community, and was set to marry her in about a month.
Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan eulogized him: "Maoz was among the best of our sons, a brave officer and devoted fighter who dedicated his life to the security of the people of Israel. He was the son of a pioneering family deeply rooted in Itamar, raised on the values of love of the land and devotion to the state. Our hearts break over young lives cut short just before building a home in Israel. All of Samaria bows its head and grieves with the dear family, and embraces them in this difficult hour. His character and heroism will accompany us and give us the strength to grow stronger and build life here."
Defense Minister Israel Katz eulogized Maoz: "He was an admired commander, brave and devoted to his soldiers — a fighter who led from the front, with responsibility, personal example and love of the land. His death, shortly before he was to build a home and marry his chosen partner, is heartbreaking and illustrates the unbearably heavy price paid by the best of our sons. My heart is with his family, his fiancée, his comrades in arms and IDF soldiers, who continue to fight bravely in southern Lebanon to defend northern communities and distance the threat from Israeli citizens."
The community of Itamar said: "With immense pain, we received the news of the fall in Lebanon of our community’s son, Captain Maoz Recanati. Maoz was the son of the Recanati family, among the founders of Itamar, and like them, he was a brave fighter and officer. The community of Itamar embraces his parents, his siblings and his fiancée in this difficult hour. May we be comforted in the rebuilding of Jerusalem."
On Friday, it was cleared for publication that Staff Sgt. Negev Dagan, 20, from the moshav Dekel and a fighter in the Golani Brigade’s 12th Battalion, was killed Thursday by a mortar shell fired at troops in the Litani area.
The Air Force intercepted two drones Saturday evening in the area where IDF troops are operating in southern Lebanon. Due to concerns over interception fragments, sirens were activated in Shlomi, Hanita, Betzet and Metzuba. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit also said Hezbollah fired rockets and mortar shells at IDF forces operating in Lebanon. The projectiles exploded near the troops, and there were no casualties.
Yashar party chairman and former IDF chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot said after the fire toward the north that "under the ‘full-on right-wing’ government, an entire region has been abandoned. The government has lost the north and its conscience." He said, "IDF soldiers and commanders are staying in Lebanon without a clear mission, bound by political and diplomatic approvals for opening fire and, above all, without a clear war objective. This is a complete loss of the ability to translate military achievements into diplomatic achievements for generations."
In the four weeks since the ceasefire in Lebanon was announced — weeks during which fire has continued almost nonstop — Sgt. Idan Fooks, Sgt. Liem Ben Hamo, reservists Barak Kalfon, Alexander Glovanyov and Lidor Porat, and Shefa-Amr resident Amer Hujeirat were also killed.