Staff Sgt. Omer Balva, 22, a dual Israeli-American citizen, was killed in an anti-tank missile attack along Israel’s border with Lebanon Friday night, amid ongoing clashing between Hezbollah and Israeli forces.
Balva, who grew up in Rockville, Maryland, was a platoon commander in the 9203 battalion of the Alexandroni brigade, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said.
“A message has been given to his family,” the IDF said in a statement. “The IDF shares in the family’s grief and will continue to support them.”
He was in the United States last week when he was called up for reserve duty, the Times of Israel reported.
The devastating news comes as Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israeli forces have been engaging in skirmishes along the Israeli-Lebanese border for the past several weeks, ever since Hamas attacked Israel, kidnapping hundreds of hostages. As Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza in order to eliminate Hamas, officials around the globe have grown concerned that the tensions may spillover with other actors, including Hezbollah and Iran.
With the ongoing clashes between Hezbollah, other militants, and Israel, concerns have mounted that either side could make one misstep and take action that they interpret to be restrained, but which the other side views as a step too far, sparking broader war.
Hamas has warned that Hezbollah could counterattack in the north if Israel conducts a ground invasion into Gaza.
“The timing of when Hezbollah wants to enter the war or not will relate to Israeli escalation and incidents on the ground, and especially if Israel tries to enter Gaza on the ground,” Ahmed Abdul-Hadi, Hamas’ chief political officer in Beirut, has said.
While officials have been hinting for days that Israel will run a ground operation in Gaza, the IDF announced Saturday that it is definitively planning ground operations.
“Plans have been approved to expand operational activities,” the IDF said.
The IDF continued to strike back on Hezbollah terror targets on Saturday. Israeli military forces responded to attacks from Lebanon by launching fire towards the sources of anti-tank missile launches from across the border, according to a report from the IDF. An IDF tank has also struck a Hezbollah observation post in recent hours.
Earlier Saturday, the IDF identified and attacked two terrorists cells near the border, and has been working to attack military compounds and take out anti-tank missile launchers to prevent further fire from terrorists.
Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, visited troops near the northern border on Saturday, urging them to be prepared to respond to possible escalation.
“Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, we are exacting a heavy price from it,” Gallant said at the Biranit camp near the border with Lebanon, the Times of Israel reported. “I assume that the challenges will be greater [than they are now], and you have to take this into account, to be ready like a [coiled] spring for any situation.”
