An Israeli soldier was killed in combat in Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Wednesday, following an incursion by the Israel army across the border earlier this week to target Hezbollah positions. 

Twenty-two-year-old Captain Eitan Itzhak Oster "fell during a battle with Hezbollah operatives in a village in southern Lebanon," the IDF said in a statement. 

The captain is the first fatality of Israel's ground operation in Lebanon.

(With input from agencies)