Two IDF officers were seriously wounded in two separate incidents in southern Lebanon over the past day, the military said Friday.
According to the IDF, one officer was seriously wounded Thursday after being hit by a suspected aerial target, apparently a drone or explosive UAV, in southern Lebanon.
In a separate incident Friday morning, a combat officer was seriously wounded and the commander of the Givati reconnaissance unit was lightly wounded during an encounter with terrorists in Zawtar al-Sharqiyah. The forces returned fire at the terrorists.
The wounded officers were evacuated to a hospital for treatment and their families were notified, the IDF said.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told CNN that “military solutions” would never bring security or safety to Israelis living in the north, urging them to resolve disputes through negotiations instead.
In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Aoun asked Israelis whether they “really want to live” in “perpetual war,” adding that the state of hostility between Israel and Lebanon must end “forever.”
“We are ready, we are willing, we are committed,” Aoun said of negotiations to end the war. “If you are not, you will never live in peace, safety and security.”
Aoun did not rule out meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in what would be the first meeting between leaders of the two countries, but said such a move would come “not before reaching an agreement” to end the war.
Earlier in the interview, Aoun said Netanyahu and Hezbollah were waging a “futile war” that would never lead to their “desired outcome.” He said the Lebanese and Israeli people had a “great opportunity” to live in safety and security.
“They are both fed up with war since 1948,” he said. “This is a huge opportunity, and they both have to choose: war or diplomacy.”
Speaking about understandings between Israel and Lebanon on a ceasefire, which Hezbollah rejected, Aoun said the negotiations were difficult before a significant breakthrough was reached. He said the agreement could become a milestone toward a “just and lasting peace.”
Aoun also criticized Iran, saying it was using Lebanon as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the United States.
“This is unacceptable,” he said, adding that the Lebanese people were “fed up” with the war between Israel and Hezbollah and demanding that Iran “stop interfering in Lebanon’s affairs.”
In a direct message to Tehran, Aoun said: “You are not trying to help us. The Lebanese people are paying the price for your interests.” He added: “Our interests do not align with yours.”
Speaking about Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Aoun said: “This is not your country. This is our country.”
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri effectively adopted Iran’s position, saying Hezbollah’s withdrawal from south of the Litani River should take place in parallel with Israel’s withdrawal from areas it captured.
The U.S. State Department announced overnight Wednesday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to “implement a ceasefire.” According to the statement, the sides agreed to move ahead with the creation of “pilot zones” where Lebanese army forces would assume control and where Hezbollah would have no presence.
The ceasefire agreement is conditioned on Hezbollah holding its fire and on “all of its operatives” withdrawing from the area south of the Litani River. Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar, which is not affiliated with Hezbollah, reported that Israeli airstrikes stopped immediately after the statement was published.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem said Thursday that he rejected the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon, saying the “humiliating and shameful” outcome of direct negotiations was rejected by broad parts of the Lebanese public.
He said Hezbollah would not agree to any ceasefire as long as IDF troops remain in Lebanon.
“The Washington declaration conditions the basic principles that America and Israel want, toward the subjugation of Lebanon to the Greater Israel project,” Qassem said.
On Thursday evening, the IDF cleared for publication that Capt. Eitan Shmuel Lamberg, 21, from Moshav Mishmar Hashiva, an armored corps officer in the 75th Battalion, was killed in combat in southern Lebanon.
The incident took place Thursday at around 4 p.m., when a terrorist fired an anti-tank missile at a tank belonging to troops from the Golani Brigade combat team operating in southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River. Immediately after the incident, the IDF struck Hezbollah infrastructure in the area from the air and with artillery.
The IDF said the Air Force struck more than 650 Hezbollah targets over the past week and that more than 125 terrorists were killed in southern Lebanon under Military Intelligence Directorate guidance. The strikes came alongside ground operations on the forward defensive line aimed at destroying terror infrastructure and removing threats to northern Israeli communities and troops operating in the area.
First published: 17:36, 06.05.26