JERUSALEM (VINnews) – The commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Nahal Brigade addressed his troops Tuesday following the deaths of four soldiers from the brigade’s reconnaissance unit in close combat with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon the previous evening.

Col. Eric Moyal spoke to his forces after the incident, in which troops engaged a terrorist cell that opened fire on them near the southern Lebanese village of Beit Lif. The soldiers returned fire, and with aerial and tank support, the terrorists were eliminated. Four soldiers were killed and three wounded in the exchange.

“Yesterday, during an encounter with terrorists, we lost four of our finest,” Moyal told his troops. “We set out on this operation to defend the residents of the north, to fight the enemy, and to remove the threat from the northern communities.”

The fallen soldiers were identified as Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22, of Sderot; Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21, of Lehavim; Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21, of Bat Yam; and Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, of Modiin. All served in the Nahal Brigade’s elite reconnaissance unit.

The IDF said the operation was part of ongoing efforts to neutralize Hezbollah threats and ensure the security of Israeli civilians in northern communities. The military stated it will continue operations against the Iran-backed terrorist organization.

The clash occurred around 6:30 p.m. Monday as Israeli forces conducted ground operations in southern Lebanon aimed at pushing back Hezbollah infrastructure and reducing rocket fire toward Israel.