IDF soldier, civilian contractor killed in Lebanon, Gaza accidents

Master Sgt. Basil Sweid and civilian contractor Raad Abu al-Qi’an were named as the fatalities in two separate but deadly incidents.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli reservist and a civilian Defense Ministry contractor were killed Wednesday in separate operational accidents in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military identified the fallen soldier on Thursday morning as Master Sgt. (res.) Basil Sweid, 32, from Peki’in in northern Israel.

Sweid, a Druze Israeli, served as a driver in the 75th Battalion of the 7th Armored Brigade.

According to an army statement, Sweid was killed during operational activity in southern Lebanon when the truck he was driving overturned.

Another soldier was moderately wounded in the accident and was evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

A second fatal incident took place the same day in the Gaza Strip, where a civilian contractor employed by Israel’s Defense Ministry was killed in an operational accident. The victim was identified as Raad Abu al-Qi’an, 49, from Hura, a Bedouin town in the Negev.

According to Hebrew-language media reports, Abu al-Qi’an was operating heavy machinery as part of demolition work in the Beit Lahia area of Jabaliya in northern Gaza when a mosque minaret collapsed onto his excavator, killing him instantly.

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said it shared in the family’s grief over the loss.

Abu al-Qi’an is the first civilian contractor killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the ceasefire brokered by the Trump administration in October 2025.

In April 2026, a civilian contractor named Amer Hujirat, 44, from the northern city of Shfaram, was killed in southern Lebanon when an explosive drone launched by Hezbollah struck while he was working. His 19-year-old son, who was working alongside him, survived with minor injuries.

“It’s very difficult — I saw my father killed in front of my eyes,” Hujirat’s son told Ynet, with his first name withheld by Israeli media. “It was shocking.”