IDF soldier killed in Lebanon; blaze at Haifa refinery after Iran, Hezbollah missile attack |
An IDF soldier was killed in a Hezbollah anti-tank missile attack in southern Lebanon and four soldiers were seriously wounded in a number of separate incidents, the military said Monday, as a simultaneous missile attack by Iran and Hezbollah again caused a blaze at the main Haifa oil refinery.
The slain soldier was named as Sgt. Liran Ben Zion, 19, of the 401st Armored Brigade’s 9th Battalion, from Holon.
According to an IDF probe of the Sunday incident, an anti-tank missile struck a tank of the 9th Battalion, killing Ben Zion and seriously injuring an officer. A short while later, two more anti-tank missiles were fired toward the troops, with no injuries caused.
The IDF said soldiers were operating to locate the cell behind the deadly attack.
Ben Zion was the sixth soldier to be killed following the IDF’s renewed offensive against Hezbollah. Two civilians have also been killed by Hezbollah rockets, and an Israeli civilian was mistakenly killed in the north by Israeli artillery shelling.
Hezbollah has been firing hundreds of rockets per day, according to the IDF. However, the vast majority of the daily rocket fire has been directed at Israeli forces operating in southern Lebanon, with only a few dozen projectiles crossing the border into Israel.
In further separate incidents, two soldiers were seriously hurt by an anti-tank guided missile, and a soldier was seriously injured and two were moderately hurt by a Hezbollah drone that struck near Israeli forces in south Lebanon.
One more soldier was moderately wounded in an “operational accident” in southern Lebanon.
The troops were all taken to hospitals for treatment and their families were notified.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued to fire rockets and drones at Israel overnight and into Monday.
A concurrent attack by Iran and the Lebanon-based terror group on Monday morning triggered sirens as far south as Herzliya and injured two people, one of them seriously.
At least six impact sites were reported – three in Kiryat Ata, two in Haifa, and one in Shfaram.
The attack caused a fire at an oil refinery in Haifa that was previously hit and damaged by interception fragments on March 19.
Images from the scene showed thick black smoke rising from the site.
Fire and Rescue Service said an industrial building and a fuel tanker at Israel’s Oil Refineries in Haifa were hit by debris from an intercepted missile.
It was not immediately clear whether the missile was fired from Iran or from Lebanon by the Tehran-backed Hezbollah.
A senior firefighter told the Kan public broadcaster that the tanker hit at the complex was on the periphery of the site and contained benzene, which is not dangerous.
He said it would take several hours to extinguish the fire sparked by the attack.
Firefighters were working to prevent the fire from spreading to additional areas while also searching for any potential trapped individuals.
Energy Minister Eli Cohen said there was no damage to production facilities and that fuel supply would not be affected, while the Environmental Protection Ministry ruled out any risk of hazardous materials leakage.
Residents, environmental activists, and others have lobbied for years to have the Bazan compound closed and the materials it produces moved, due to both the heavy pollution it causes to the area — where cancer and asthma rates are high — and fears of disastrous consequences in an attack.
After the site was hit by an Iranian missile earlier in the month, Avihu Han, Haifa’s Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Haifa Bay Cities Association for Environmental Protection, urged the government to shutter the refineries as soon as possible, in line with its own decision to transition to importing and safely storing petroleum distillates in different locations.
“We can’t continue playing Russian roulette with the lives and security of the residents of the Haifa metropolis and the energy security of the citizens of the State of Israel,” he said, adding that the location of the refineries in the center of a civilian metropolis was a failure of energy and security policy.
Featuring an iconic cooling tower (formerly two), the Bazan Group Oil Refineries Ltd. site spans 526 acres (2,130 dunams), approximately two kilometers (1.2 miles) from Haifa Bay, and has long been a target of Israel’s enemies.
During last June’s war against Iran, Bazan was also hit twice, with three workers killed when a massive blaze broke out in the wake of one of the missile attacks.
From our archives: Missile that hit Haifa oil refinery brings renewed urgency to plant’s closure plan
‘Terror cell dressed as paramedics’
Meanwhile, the IDF said it was continuing to strike Hezbollah strikes across Lebanon.
The terror group sparked the ongoing Israeli offensive when it waded into the US-Israeli war with Iran on March 2, firing rockets at northern Israel.
Lebanon’s military said an Israeli strike killed a soldier at a checkpoint in the country’s southern Tyre region, in what a Lebanese military source said was a direct targeting of an army position.
“An Israeli attack targeted an army checkpoint” near Tyre, “resulting in the death of one soldier and injuries to others,” the Lebanese military said.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
Also on Monday, Israel’s military announced that it had struck a “Hezbollah terror cell dressed as paramedics” in southern Lebanon on Saturday.
According to the IDF, the Hezbollah operatives were operating next to an ambulance.
“The terrorists who were targeted had been systematically transferring weapons using ambulances from northern to southern Lebanon, as part of ongoing terror activities and for use against IDF troops and the State of Israel,” the military claimed.
Lebanon’s health minister on Saturday reported that nine medics were killed in Israeli strikes, including four from Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Committee and five from the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement’s Risala Scouts.
The IDF has warned several times that Hezbollah is using ambulances and medical facilities in Lebanon for military purposes.
“In the past month alone, dozens of rockets have been launched toward the State of Israel and at IDF soldiers from areas in which these terrorists operated, while they exploited ambulances and medical infrastructure for military purposes,” the IDF said.
“The use of ambulances and medical teams to conceal terror activities constitutes a severe violation of international law. Under IDF directives and in accordance with international law, medical teams are afforded special protection, provided they do not engage in hostile acts outside their humanitarian duties and subject to the conditions established under the law,” the military added.
Israeli strikes and ground operations have killed more than 1,200 people in Lebanon, including children, women, and medical personnel, according to the Lebanese health ministry. It does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Stav Levaton contributed to this report.
Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:
Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;
Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and
Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.
Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.
So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
1 Iranian attack on Saudi air base heavily damages key US surveillance aircraft
2 US-Israeli plan for Kurdish invasion of Iran reportedly collapsed amid leaks, distrust
3 Iranian missile attack sparks blaze in chemical plant, fears of hazardous leak
4 In Arad, missile blast adds fuel to feud over shelters being used as synagogues
5 Police stop top Catholic figures from reaching Holy Sepulchre for Palm Sunday Mass
6 JD Vance’s Jewish chief of staff seems unfazed by GOP antisemitism – though he’s a target
7 Knesset approves 2026 budget, Israel’s largest ever, sending billions to Haredi institutions
8 Latest message purportedly from Iran’s new supreme leader thanks Iraq for war support
2026 Israel-Hezbollah conflict
2026 US-Israel war with Iran