The 21-year-old Givati Reconnaissance soldier from Ashkelon is the 13th soldier killed since the Lebanon cease-fire took effect, as schools close across the northern border areaThe IDF said Sunday that Staff Sergeant Michael Tyukin, 21, a Givati Reconnaissance Unit soldier from Ashkelon, was killed Saturday by a Hezbollah drone in southern Lebanon. Four other soldiers were lightly wounded in the incident.2 View gallery Staff Sgt. Michael TyukinIn recent weeks, Hezbollah’s explosive drones have become one of the IDF’s main challenges in the north. The terror group has tried to exploit southern Lebanon’s complex terrain and proximity to Israeli communities to launch low-flying drones that are difficult to detect toward IDF forces and Israeli territory. Some are fiber-optic drones, making them harder for detection and jamming systems to counter.The IDF acknowledges that the threat is forcing changes in operational conduct in the field and is not merely a localized tactical challenge.On Wednesday, Sgt. Rotem Yanai was killed by an explosive drone at the Shomera post while on her way to a protected area. Two reserve soldiers from the Goren rapid response team were wounded by another drone after arriving to help.Three days earlier, Sgt. Nehoray Leizer was killed by a Hezbollah explosive drone in the village of Debel in southern Lebanon. Two days before that, Staff Sergeant Noam Hamburger was killed by a drone strike at the Biranit post.At the same time, the IDF has deepened its operations in southern Lebanon, and in some areas is operating beyond the “yellow line” in an effort to push Hezbollah cells northward, strike launch sites and terror infrastructure, and move the threat away from border communities. On Sunday morning, the IDF said it had captured Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon and announced a broader operation on the Beaufort ridge and around the Saluki stream.On Saturday, Hezbollah expanded its fire, launching rockets at Karmiel, Safed and Nahariya for the first time in weeks. Around 4:20 p.m., sirens sounded in Safed and nearby communities. About half an hour later, rocket sirens were activated in Nahariya for the first time in three weeks, and in Karmiel for the first time in more than a month. Sirens were also activated in Kiryat Shmona.Following the escalation, the Home Front Command announced that schools would remain closed Sunday and Monday in all border communities. The restrictions, which also include the closure of beaches, apply to dozens of communities, including Nahariya, Ma’alot-Tarshiha and Kiryat Shmona, where local authorities had already announced school closures shortly before the official Home Front Command notice.Amid the heavy fire, Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya will resume operating underground.