Jerusalem — Four Israeli soldiers lost their lives and two others sustained injuries during a fierce exchange with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon on March 30, the Israel Defense Forces reported Tuesday.
The fallen troops, all from the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit, were identified as Captain Noam Madmoni, 22, from Sderot; Staff Sergeant Ben Cohen, 21, from Lehavim; and Staff Sergeant Maxsim Entis, 21, from Bat Yam. The name of the fourth soldier was withheld pending notification of his family. One soldier was seriously wounded, while a reservist suffered moderate injuries.
According to the IDF, the incident unfolded around 6:30 p.m. in the western sector of southern Lebanon when troops from the unit spotted a cell of Hezbollah gunmen. A close-range firefight ensued, during which several operatives were hit. As forces evacuated the wounded, Hezbollah fired an anti-tank missile, which caused no additional casualties. Israeli tanks and aircraft responded with shelling and airstrikes.
In a separate development early Tuesday, Iranian ballistic missiles triggered air raid sirens across Jerusalem and central Israel around 5:30 a.m. Air defenses intercepted the projectiles or directed them to open areas, and Magen David Adom emergency services reported no injuries, the IDF said. It marked the latest in a series of Iranian attacks as the US-Israeli campaign against Tehran continues.
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The ongoing conflict with Iran has sent ripples through global energy markets. Reuters reported that the national average retail gasoline price in the United States surpassed $4 a gallon for the first time in over three years, according to GasBuddy data, as disruptions to energy supplies from the war take their toll.
Citing the Wall Street Journal, Reuters also noted that President Donald Trump has told aides he is prepared to bring the military campaign against Iran to a close without immediately securing the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, leaving that issue for a future phase.
US and Western intelligence officials told the New York Times that repeated US-Israeli strikes targeting Iranian leadership have significantly hampered decision-making in Tehran, even as the regime remains intact. The elimination of dozens of key figures has complicated coordination for major retaliatory actions and may hinder future negotiations, while empowering hardliners within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Elsewhere in the region, debris from an air defense interception sparked a fire in an abandoned house in Dubai’s Al Badaa neighborhood, wounding four people with minor injuries, authorities said via the Dubai Media Office on X, according to AFP.
Kuwait Petroleum Corporation reported that an Iranian attack hit its fully loaded crude oil tanker Al Salmi at a Dubai port, causing a fire and damage but no casualties. Damage assessment continues, with warnings of a possible oil spill in surrounding waters, Reuters said, citing KUNA.
On the diplomatic front, the US State Department declined to condemn new Israeli legislation allowing the death penalty for West Bank Palestinians convicted of deadly terror attacks. A spokesperson stated that Washington respects Israel’s sovereign right to set its own laws and penalties for terrorism convictions, provided fair trials and legal guarantees are upheld, as reported by Jacob Magid.
In other news, Israeli-American comedian Modi Rosenfeld withdrew from a Passover event at City Winery in Manhattan after learning that New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would participate, according to Luke Tress.
A broker for US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly explored a multimillion-dollar investment in a defense industry ETF shortly before the Iran strikes, though the Pentagon has strongly denied any wrongdoing, per a Financial Times report via Reuters.
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