ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Israeli military on Thursday reported the death of a soldier in combat in southern Lebanon, marking the second fatality from its ranks in just a few hours during its ongoing military campaign in the country as Hezbollah vows to continue resistance. 

According to the Israeli military, in the same incident, two officers and two soldiers from the battalion were injured, bringing the total number of Israeli fatalaties in its latest Lebanon offensive to four. The Lebanese health ministry, meanwhile, reported Thursday that 1,094 Lebanese citizens have been killed in the Israeli campaign since March 2.

Hezbollah said Thursday it carried out a series of strikes against Israeli forces, including guided missile attacks on Merkava tanks and rocket and drone strikes on multiple military positions along the northern front, reporting several direct hits.

The group's leader Naim Qassem said on Wednesday that engaging in talks with Israel while under military pressure would amount to Lebanon’s capitulation, calling on the Beirut government to lift current restrictions on the group’s military operations.

Israel has launched extensive military operations into Lebanon in recent weeks, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Wednesday they have "created a genuine security zone preventing any infiltration toward the Galilee and the northern border."

"We are expanding this zone to push the threat from anti-tank missiles further away and to establish a broader buffer zone," he added in a video address, raising fears of another extended period of Israeli occupation in its northern neighbor.

Despite the 2024 ceasefire, Israel never stopped conducting strikes on Lebanon.

The current escalation was triggered when Hezbollah launched a wave of rockets and drones into Israel, including a strike on a military site near Haifa. The Lebanese Shiite group characterized the attack as retaliation for the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and previous Israeli bombardments across Lebanon.

Israel is now planning a significant expansion of its operations, aiming to seize control of the region south of the Litani River and dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure. If realized, this would mark the largest Israeli invasion of Lebanon since 2006 and could potentially evolve into a long-term occupation of the country's southern territory.

Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid on Thursday accused the government of driving the country toward a "security disaster" due to a shortage of combat soldiers, echoing a warning reportedly delivered a day earlier to the security cabinet by military chief Eyal Zamir.

He asserted that "the Chief of Staff is warning of the collapse of the IDF — and the government is ignoring it," while further arguing that the administration "is sending the army into a multi-front war without a strategy, without the necessary means, and with far too few soldiers."