Four Israeli reservists were killed Sunday in the collapse of an underground structure in southern Lebanon, the IDF spokesperson announced Monday. The victims are Reserve Captain Yevgeny Zinershein, 43, from Zikhron Yaakov, Captain Sagi Yaakov Rubinstein, 31, from Lavi, Sergeant Major Benjamin Destau Negusa, 28, from Beit Shemesh, and Sergeant Erez Ben Ephraim , 25 years old, from Ramat Gan. These are the first military losses since the ceasefire with Hezbollah came into force.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon when a unit of reservists from Brigade 226 was carrying out mine clearance operations near the village of Labouna. “The unit descended into an underground structure where weapons were believed to be hidden, when a loud explosion occurred, causing the bunker to collapse on top of the soldiers,” the Israeli army said.
Home Front Command teams worked for several hours to extract the bodies of the soldiers. No other injuries were reported. The IDF is investigating the origin of the explosion, favoring the hypothesis of an operational accident caused by the accidental activation of an explosive.
Sergeant Major Negusa is Beit Shemesh's 17th casualty in the current war. “The municipality of Beit Shemesh mourns the loss of this precious family and supports them in these difficult times,” the town hall said in a statement.
This tragedy comes as the IDF announced on Sunday that it had carried out strikes against members of Hezbollah operating in an arms depot in southern Lebanon, accused of having “violated the ceasefire”. “The IDF remains committed to the ceasefire agreements, is deployed in southern Lebanon and will act to eliminate any threat against the State of Israel and its citizens,” the army said.
