JNS
Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ronny Ganizate is the 12th IDF soldier killed since the start of Israel's ground operation in Lebanon • 360 projectiles launched at Israel in a single day, killing two and wounding six.
The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday morning announced the death of Sgt. Maj. (res.) Ronny Ganizate, who was severely injured fighting Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon and later succumbed to his wounds.
Ganizate, 36, from Givat Shmuel, was a reservist from the 5030th Battalion of the 228 Brigade (Alon) serving his third round of reserve duty, totaling more than 200 days. He is survived by his wife, Shoshana, and three children.
He is the 12th soldier killed since the start of Israel's ground offensive in Southern Lebanon at the end of September. The overall death toll on all fronts since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023 stands at 731.
Israeli forces kill two Hezbollah commanders
The IDF also said on Thursday morning that two Hezbollah commanders were eliminated in Southern Lebanon by air and artillery strikes.
Ahmad Moustafa al-Haj Ali, commander of Hezbollah's Houla Front, was responsible for hundreds of missile attacks on the Kiryat Shmona area, according to the IDF.
Two people were killed in Kiryat Shmona on Wednesday afternoon when Hezbollah launched 20 rockets from Lebanon at the evacuated Israeli border town. The Israeli Air Force destroyed the launcher used in the attack.
Mohammad Ali Hamdan, the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank unit in the Meiss El Jabal area, was responsible for extensive anti-tank missile attacks on communities in northern Israel, the military said.
Furthermore, overnight Wednesday the IAF hit multiple weapons storage facilities in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyah south of Beirut. Weapons depots and Hezbollah infrastructure were also hit in Southern Lebanon.
The IDF emphasized that measures were taken before the Dahiyah strikes to reduce harm to the civilian population, including sending out advance warnings.
"The Hezbollah terrorist organization has deliberately embedded its weapons storage facilities and weaponry beneath residential buildings, schools, mosques and universities, in the heart of Beirut, endangering the civilian population in the area," the IDF said.
Hezbollah launches 360 projectiles at Israel in one day
Iran's Lebanese terror proxy launched 360 rockets and other projectiles at Israeli territory on Wednesday, with 220 crossing the border, according to the IDF.
In addition to the two killed in Kiryat Shmona, six people were wounded in the Haifa Bay area when Hezbollah fired some 40 rockets at the Upper Galilee and Haifa region in the morning hours.
Later in the day, the Iranian proxy launched a barrage of some 200 rockets at the Galilee, hitting a residence in Safed.
The IAF destroyed the launcher from which the projectiles were fired.
Also on Wednesday, an Israeli Navy missile ship intercepted a drone outside of Israeli territory that was approaching from Lebanon.
Hezbollah terrorist killed in Syria
In Syria, the IAF on Wednesday killed Adham Jahout, a terrorist in Hezbollah’s “Golan Terrorist Network," the group's Syrian cell, in the area of Quneitra.
"As part of his role, he relayed information from Syrian regime sources to the Hezbollah terrorist organization and transmitted intelligence gathered on the Syrian front to facilitate operations against Israel in the Golan Heights," the IDF said.
IDF exposes Hezbollah's use of environmental NGO
The IDF's 36th Division during ground activities in Southern Lebanon has encountered Hezbollah terror infrastructure inside facilities of the "Green Without Borders" (GWB) environmental NGO.
Hezbollah dug tunnels, stored weapons and built military observation posts inside GWB facilities located near the border with Israeli communities, the IDF said, adding that in targeted raids Israeli forces had destroyed the weapons and underground infrastructure.
The 36th Division has dismantled over 500 operational enemy infrastructure and combat compounds, including weapons storage facilities.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Green Without Borders as a terrorist group in August 2023.
“Under [Zuhair Subhi] Nahla’s leadership, GWB has functioned as a cover for Hezbollah’s terrorist activities,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller at the time. “GWB sites have been used to conduct Hezbollah’s weapons training, to provide support for Hezbollah’s activities along the Blue Line in southern Lebanon, and to impede the freedom of movement of the U.N. Security Council-mandated United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.”
