IDF Officer Aviaad Volansky Killed by Anti-Tank Fire in Southern Lebanon
An Israeli soldier was killed Thursday during fighting in southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fighters fired anti-tank missiles at an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unit, the military said, as operations continue across the border.
The soldier was identified as Lt. Aviaad Elchanan Volansky, 21, from Jerusalem, a tank crewman in the 77th Battalion of the Armored Corps. He was operating with a Golani Brigade combat team at the time of the attack.
Give the gift of hope
We practice what we preach:
accurate, fearless journalism. But we can't do it alone.
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
- On the ground in Gaza, Syria, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan, and more
- Our program trained more than 100 journalists
- Calling out fake news and reporting real facts
Join us.
Support The Media Line. Save democracy.
According to the IDF, two anti-tank missiles were launched at the force. One was intercepted by an active defense system, while the second hit the tank. Four other soldiers —including two officers—sustained light injuries. Israeli forces returned fire with gunfire and artillery toward the source of the attack.
Volansky was the son of Brig. Gen. (res.) Yair Volansky, who serves as the defense establishment comptroller, is the grandson of Rabbi Oded Volansky, a prominent figure in the religious Zionist community. His father previously commanded the same battalion.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said Volansky “fell in heroic combat in southern Lebanon defending the State of Israel and its citizens,” adding that his father works alongside him and describing him as “a man of mission, dedication and integrity.”
The fatal attack came in the same sector where Staff Sgt. Ori Greenberg, 21, a Golani reconnaissance soldier from Petah Tikva, was killed overnight in close-quarters combat with Hezbollah terrorists. Separately, an officer was moderately wounded overnight by IDF fire, and 14 soldiers were hospitalized due to suspected hypothermia.
