The IDF announced Sunday that Hezbollah's attack on Israel on Sunday resulted in the death of one sailor aboard an Israeli Dvora-class fast patrol boat near Nahariyah.
Sergeant First Class David Moshe Ben Shitrit, 21, from the Benjamin region settlement of Adam, was killed Sunday during combat operations in northern Israel. Ben Shitrit, a sailor in the Israeli Navy's 914th patrol boat squadron, died when an Iron Dome interceptor missile struck his vessel during a Hezbollah attack on the Acre area and northern Israel. Two other sailors from the squadron sustained light to moderate injuries in the incident.
Ben Shitrit leaves behind his parents, Iris and Shimon, and three sisters: Hodaya, Daniel, and Tamar. His death is the second combat fatality from Adam within a week, following the loss of Sergeant Major (res.) Mordechai Yosef Ben Shoam in central Gaza. The community of about 7,000 residents has been devastated by these losses.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Ben Shitrit was critically wounded when an Iron Dome interceptor missile directly hit the Dvora-class patrol boat, or when it was struck by debris from an intercepted drone. The injured sailors were transferred to a smaller vessel and then to the hospital in Nahariya, where Ben Shitrit was pronounced dead.
Hospital officials reported that one moderately wounded sailor was admitted to the orthopedic ward and scheduled for surgery, while another with light injuries was treated in the emergency room and discharged.
The damaged patrol boat, bearing fragments of the interceptor missile, was taken to the Haifa naval base for repairs and is expected to return to active duty within 24-48 hours.
"A giving soul who dreamed of serving to protect the country"
"David was a friendly and patriotic young man, a giving soul who dreamed of serving to protect the country he loved so much," said a statement from the Adam community in Giv'at Binyamin.
Yisrael Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, expressed his condolences: "It was with great pain that we learned this morning of David's fall while serving in the Navy during the fighting in the north. Son of Shimon and Iris, a municipal employee, and brother to Tamar, Shir, and Hodaya, David loved the country and was determined to serve the people of Israel and fight for them. This is a heavy blow for all of us, especially for the community of Adam, which just last week laid to rest the fighter Mordechai Ben Shoam. I wish to convey condolences to the parents and sisters - we are all with you! And also to strengthen the residents of Adam. Thanks to our heroic soldiers, the people of Israel will prevail!"
Late Saturday night, the IDF carried out preemptive strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon after detecting the terror group's preparations to launch a significant missile and rocket attack against Israel. A Western intelligence source revealed that these initial strikes targeted long-range missile launchers primed to strike Tel Aviv at 5 a.m, according to the New York Times, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later said that Hezbollah was preparing to fire on northern Israel.
"This morning we identified Hezbollah preparations to attack Israel. In consensus with the defense minister and the IDF chief-of-staff, we directed the IDF initiate action to eliminate the threat," he noted. "Since then, the IDF has been taking strong action to foil the threats. It has eliminated thousands of rockets that were aimed at northern Israel. It is thwarting many other threats and is taking very strong action – both defensively and offensively. We are determined to do everything to defend our country, to return the residents of the north securely to their homes and to continue upholding a simple rule: Whoever harms us – we will harm them."
Tensions along the northern border have been high since the terrorist group officially declared it would attack Israel in retaliation for the recent assassination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr. The Shi'ite terrorist group has been firing rockets almost daily on northern Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians since Oct. 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel, prompting the Israeli invasion of Gaza to eradicate Hamas.
