Israel military says soldier killed in southern Lebanon

JERUSALEM: Israel said on Monday a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, taking to 23 the number of its troops killed in the war with Iran-backed Hezbollah. A military statement named him as 19-year-old Sergeant Nehoray Leizer of the 601st Combat Engineering Battalion, who “fell in combat in southern Lebanon.” During the incident in which Leizer was killed, “an additional soldier was severely injured,” the Israeli military said separately on Telegram. A total of 24 Israelis have been killed in the conflict, 23 soldiers and one civilian contractor, since hostilities began on March 2.