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Israel Soldier Killed by 'Hostile Aircraft' on Lebanon Border

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following artillery fire by the Israeli army on hills near the town of Marwahin
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following artillery fire by the Israeli army on hills near the town of Marwahin
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Israel Soldier Killed by 'Hostile Aircraft' on Lebanon Border

Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following artillery fire by the Israeli army on hills near the town of Marwahin
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following artillery fire by the Israeli army on hills near the town of Marwahin

The Israeli army said Saturday that a soldier was killed and two others wounded on the Lebanese border, with a spokesperson confirming the casualties were caused by a "hostile aircraft".

"Sergeant Major (reservist) Yehezkel Azaria, from Petah Tikva... fell during an operational activity in the Margaliot area, aged 53 at the time of his death," the army said in a statement.

A military spokesperson confirmed to AFP that two soldiers were also wounded in the attack, which was the result of an incursion by an unspecified "hostile aircraft".

The army had reported the incursion earlier in the day, saying that air defenses "intercepted a hostile aircraft that crossed from Lebanon into Israel".

"An additional hostile aircraft that crossed from Lebanon was identified and fell in Margaliot... In response, Israeli artillery is striking in Lebanon," it added.

Azaria is the seventh Israeli soldier to be killed on Lebanese border since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.

Since October 8, the day after the war started, the frontier has seen deadly exchanges of fire, mainly between the Israeli army and the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement, which says it is acting in support of Hamas.

On Friday, residents said the Israeli army dropped leaflets on parts of southern Lebanon for the first time since hostilities flared, warning them not to help Hezbollah.

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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
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Italy’s Foreign Minister Heads to Syria to Encourage Post-Assad Transition

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks to the media a he arrives for a meeting at Rome’s Villa Madama, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025 on the situation in Syria after the collapse of the Assad regime. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini (Andrew Medichini/AP POOL)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would travel to Syria on Friday to encourage the country's transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by insurgents, and appealed on Europe to review its sanctions on Damascus now that the political situation has changed.
Tajani presided over a meeting in Rome on Thursday of foreign ministry officials from five countries, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and the United States.
The aim, he said, is to coordinate the various post-Assad initiatives, with Italy prepared to make proposals on private investments in health care for the Syrian population.
Going into the meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and their European counterparts, Tajani said it was critical that all Syrians be recognized with equal rights. It was a reference to concerns about the rights of Christians and other minorities under Syria’s new de facto authorities of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HT.
“The first messages from Damascus have been positive. That’s why I’m going there tomorrow, to encourage this new phase that will help stabilize the international situation,” Tajani said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the European Union should discuss possible changes to its sanctions on Syria. “It’s an issue that should be discussed because Assad isn’t there anymore, it’s a new situation, and I think that the encouraging signals that are arriving should be further encouraged,” he said.
Syria has been under deeply isolating sanctions by the US, the European Union and others for years as a result of Assad’s brutal response to what began as peaceful anti-government protests in 2011 and spiraled into civil war.
HTS led a lightning insurgency that ousted Assad on Dec. 8 and ended his family’s decades-long rule. From 2011 until Assad’s downfall, Syria’s uprising and civil war killed an estimated 500,000 people.
The US has gradually lifted some penalties since Assad departed Syria for protection in Russia. The Biden administration in December decided to drop a $10 million bounty it had offered for the capture of a Syrian opposition leader whose forces led the ouster of Assad last month.
Syria’s new leaders also have been urged to respect the rights of minorities and women. Many Syrian Christians, who made up 10% of the population before Syria’s civil war, either fled the country or supported Assad out of fear of insurgents.