Four teenage Israeli soldiers were killed in the Hezbollah drone strike that injured dozens of troops as they sat for dinner Sunday at their camp, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The four dead, who had initially been listed in critical condition, were identified Monday while being posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
Now-Sergeants Omri Tamari, Yosef Hieb, Yoav Agmon and Alon Amitay were all just 19. They had been dining with others at the IDF’s Golani Brigade training camp near Haifa when the strike hit, wounding at least 58 others.
“This is a difficult event with painful results,” Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said after visiting the camp. “We must investigate it, study the details and assimilate the lessons in a quick and professional manner.”
Hezbollah immediately claimed responsibility for the strike and said it was retaliation for the IDF’s strike in Beirut on Thursday that killed 22 people.
Funerals for the slain soldiers were scheduled for Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning, according to The Times of Israel. Three were declared dead at the base while a fourth succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital, officials said.
Another 40 soldiers remained hospitalized with injuries on Monday.
An IDF soldier who witnessed the drone strike told Ynet that he had just finished eating when the drone exploded in the mess hall.
“Then there was a crazy boom. The iron door buckled, we didn’t understand what was happening and then suddenly something penetrated the ceiling in the dining hall,” he said. “We heard nothing, just the massive explosion. There was no siren.”
Sunday’s attack is the latest of Hezbollah’s incessant drone and missile barrages against the Jewish state, with the terror group firing more than 300 rockets on Saturday during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism.
Although none were killed in the attack, the Iran-backed terror group’s missiles on Thursday killed an Israeli couple as they were walking their dogs in Kiryat Shmona.
The attacks continue to escalate as Israel is conducting ground raids in Lebanon aimed at dismantling Hezbollah’s rocket firing stations and terror infrastructure around the border area.
The IDF boasted that its troops on the ground have killed more than 100 Hezbollah terrorists in the past week, with 50 launching sites destroyed along with 60 command centers.
Gallant vowed that the operations will continue until Israel is assured Hezbollah can never return to the border villages.
His office said he had briefed US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday night’s attacks