The Lebanese Army announced on Friday that two of its soldiers were martyred and three others were wounded in an Israeli airstrike targeting a military position in the town of Kafra, South Lebanon.

Earlier reports from Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon indicated that the Israeli airstrike had struck the road next to a building in Kafra.

Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the Israeli attack, calling it an act of Israeli aggression that targeted Lebanese soldiers who were fulfilling their national duty of protecting the land and defending the people.

"This ongoing Israeli criminality against Lebanon has now extended to our brave soldiers," Mikati stated.

He added that these assaults were a clear challenge to the international community, which continues to remain silent about the Israeli occupation's repeated violations.

Mikati also reached out to Army Commander General Joseph Aoun, offering condolences for the fallen soldiers and wishing a speedy recovery for the wounded.

Since the beginning of the aggression on Lebanon in October 2023, several Lebanese soldiers have been killed due to repeated Israeli attacks on southern villages.

US weakening Lebanese army

The United States and several Western giants have been controlling the armament of the Lebanese Army for years, systematically ensuring that all development opportunities, obtaining needed technologies, and enhancing their combat and military skills to fight and confront the Israeli occupation are obsolete. 

Retired Lebanese colonel and military expert Nidal Zahwi spoke to Sputnik about how the collective West historically barely armed the Lebanese Armed Forces so as to prevent them from defending against the Israeli occupation forces, rendering their ability to defend Lebanon's sovereignty almost negligible.

Zahwi noted, however, that the Lebanese Army wants to defend its lands and wants to protect the country's sovereignty, but does not possess the tools that would help them, including viable air defense, which forces them to remain reactive in place. 

This is due to the United States' deep and major involvement in blocking access to aviation and air defenses to reduce any threat that could face its most strategic ally in the Middle East, the Israeli occupation, making Washington the "guarantor" of the Israeli regime in the region.