A reserve soldier died in an “operational accident” in southern Lebanon Wednesday night, the Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday.

The military identified him as Master Sgt. (res.) Basil Sweid, 32, a truck driver in the 7th Armored Brigade’s 75th Battalion, from Peki’in. The IDF said Sweid was killed when his refueling truck overturned in the Rab al-Thalathine area at around 11 p.m. last night.

As a result of the truck overturning, Sweid was killed and a combat soldier was moderately injured.

The injured soldier was hospitalized and his family has been notified.

Muafak Tarif, leader of the Druze community in Israel, eulogized Sweid and said he had willingly done long stints of reserve duty.

“There are no words to describe the pain of losing a young man,” Tarif said, according to the Haaretz news site. “Basil Sweid served hundreds of days in the reserves and saw his service as a mission and a privilege that was afforded to him to protect the country.”

He added, “The Druze community continues to bear the burden [of military service] and to pay a very heavy and dear price. The heroism of the Druze soldiers demonstrates our participation in the State of Israel, a partnership that........

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