2 Israeli Soldiers Killed Near Lebanon Border

Two Israeli soldiers were killed overnight after an anti-tank missile struck an Israeli military engineering vehicle in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday.

The army confirmed that one of the soldiers was Maher Khater, 38, from Majdal Shams in the occupied Golan Heights. He served as a combat engineer in the 91st Division of the Combat Engineering Corps.

Israeli media reported that the incident occurred around 3 a.m. near Israeli military positions in the border area between the communities of Margaliot, Manara and Misgav Am along the frontier with Lebanon.

According to the reports, an engineering unit from Battalion 601 was operating in the area when an armored personnel carrier became stuck. A rescue team arrived with recovery vehicles and D-9 armored bulldozers to tow the vehicle.

During the recovery operation, an anti-tank missile was fired toward one of the military vehicles at the scene, critically wounding two soldiers. Both were airlifted by helicopter to a hospital but were later pronounced dead.

An Israeli officer was also lightly injured in the attack.

Military officials are also investigating whether a mortar shell may have struck the fuel tank of one of the D-9 bulldozers during the incident.

The attack marks the fourth anti-tank missile strike targeting Israeli forces in recent days, causing casualties and damage.

In a separate incident on Friday, two Israeli soldiers were seriously and moderately wounded by a missile attack targeting troops in the Western Galilee region near the border with Lebanon.