Cleared for publication: Capt. Dr. Ori Yosef Silvester, 30, a physician with the Shaked Battalion of the Givati Brigade, was killed Monday near Beaufort in southern Lebanon by an explosive FPV drone. He was posthumously promoted from lieutenant to captain.
In the incident in which Dr. Ori was killed, two IDF officers and one soldier were seriously wounded, and another soldier was moderately wounded. Two additional officers and one soldier were lightly wounded. They were evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment, and their families were notified.
Dr. Ori was killed near Beaufort, a strategic hilltop fortress in southern Lebanon that was reoccupied by the IDF after 26 years. He is the 15th Israeli service member killed since the Lebanon ceasefire took effect. The last six fatalities have all been caused by Hezbollah FPV drones — the most significant threat facing Israeli forces in recent months and one for which no effective solution has yet been found.
On Monday evening, after a conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump effectively announced an extension of the ceasefire. The announcement came seven hours after Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz ordered a strike on Beirut's Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold, an operation that was ultimately not carried out.
Earlier Monday, the IDF cleared for publication that Staff Sgt. Adam Tzarfati, 20, of Rosh HaAyin, a soldier in the Maglan commando unit, was killed overnight in a drone strike in southern Lebanon. Thousands attended his funeral Monday evening at the military cemetery in Rosh HaAyin. At nearly the same time, thousands paid their final respects to Staff Sgt. Michael Tyukin, a reconnaissance soldier in the Givati Brigade, who was also killed in a drone strike in southern Lebanon.
First published: 21:59, 06.01.26