The IDF announces that Staff Sergeant Ori Greenberg, 21, from Petah Tikva, a soldier in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit, fell in combat in southern Lebanon.
New details have emerged from the close-quarters battle in southern Lebanon in which Staff Sgt. Ori Greenberg, 21, was killed — marking Israel’s first direct, face-to-face firefight of the current ground operation.
Early Thursday morning, around 2:10 a.m., troops from the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit came under sudden short-range fire while operating in the area. The ambush triggered an intense close-range clash with a Hezbollah cell of at least five terrorists.
Israeli soldiers returned fire immediately, eliminating several of the attackers on the spot. Additional airstrikes were then called in to neutralize the remaining operatives in the vicinity.
Staff Sgt. Greenberg was critically wounded during the exchange and succumbed to his injuries en route to the hospital. Another soldier sustained light injuries.
Israeli forces continue to clear the sector and pursue any remaining threats as ground operations in southern Lebanon advance.