ISTANBUL

The Israeli military on Thursday announced the death of a soldier in combat in southern Lebanon after notifying his family.

Ori Greenberg, 21, served in the Golani Brigade’s reconnaissance unit and was killed during fighting in southern Lebanon, the military said.

The announcement followed a military statement saying that a soldier was wounded on Wednesday during mortar fire that was launched from Lebanon toward Israeli troops.

Israel has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by the Hezbollah group on March 2.

Lebanese authorities say at least 1,094 people have been killed and 3,119 injured in Israeli attacks since then.

The current escalation came amid a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran which has killed more than 1,340 people since Feb. 28.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel along with Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries, saying they are aimed at US military assets.