An American-born Israeli soldier was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, Israeli officials said Sunday.
Sgt. Moshe Yitzchak Hacohen Katz, 22, was born in New Haven, Connecticut, according to a post from the Israel Defense Forces. He was posthumously promoted from corporal to sergeant, the military said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Katz enlisted in the IDF's Paratroopers Brigade after moving to Israel. He did not specify how long Katz had been serving. The IDF said that Katz was a member of its 890th Battalion.
"On behalf of all citizens of Israel, we embrace the family of the late Moshe in their difficult time and wish a speedy and complete recovery to our soldiers who were injured in that incident," Netanyahu said in a statement. "May his memory be blessed."
רעייתי ואני מוסרים את תנחומינו מעומק הלב למשפחתו של סמל משה יצחק הכהן כץ ז״ל, שנפל בקרב בלבנון.
משה ז״ל עלה לארץ מארה״ב, התגייס לחטיבת הצנחנים ולחם בגבורה למען הגנת המולדת.
בשם כל אזרחי ישראל, אנו מחבקים את משפחתו של משה ז״ל בשעתה הקשה ומוסרים החלמה מהירה ושלמה ללוחמינו שנפצעו… pic.twitter.com/aIEpCQespN
Rabbi Yehoshua Hecht, Katz's great-uncle, told Israel's Army Radio station that his great-nephew was a "very special young man" who "enjoyed every moment of life," according to the Associated Press. Hecht described Katz as religious and a good student.
The military did not specify how or where Katz died except to say that it was in combat in southern Lebanon, where Israel has been fighting a second front parallel to its joint operation in Iran with the United States. Israel has engaged in combat with the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Five Israeli soldiers have died in combat in Lebanon since the start of March, according to the Associated Press.
The United Nations' refugee agency has warned that Lebanon is facing a humanitarian crisis that may become a "catastrophe." One in five residents of the country, or a million people, have fled their homes, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Israel has told civilians in dozens of towns and villages across southern Lebanon to flee as it attacks alleged Hezbollah sites.
According to the independent National Institute for Security Studies in Israel, at least 1,116 people have been killed during the Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the war in Iran began.
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