Two Israeli reservists serving on the northern border were killed in a mortar attack, authorities announced Monday, as the military said it was sending more troops into Lebanon amid a swiftly widening offensive against the Hezbollah terror group.

The deaths were announced as Hezbollah continued to fire rockets at northern Israel, launching dozens of projectiles at towns in the north towns a day after it managed to breach air defenses around Haifa for a first time.

Master Sgt. (res.) Etay Azulay, 25, from the West Bank border settlement of Oranit, and Warrant Officer (res.) Aviv Magen, 43, from the central town of Herut, were both on the Israeli side of the border with Lebanon when a mortar impacted near their position Sunday evening, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Azulay was killed on the spot, while Magen died in a hospital on Monday morning. Both were members of the IDF’s elite 5515 combat mobility unit.

A third reservist with them at the time was seriously wounded.

The deaths bring the IDF’s toll since launching its ground operation in Lebanon to 11.

Israel launched what it called “limited, localized, and targeted raids” on the ground in southern Lebanon on September 30, aiming to demolish Hezbollah infrastructure near the frontier, especially in the villages adjacent to Israel, to enable displaced Israeli residents of the north to return home safely.

On Sunday night, the army sent a third division into Lebanon to fight alongside two divisions already operating across the border. The move adds thousands of troops to Israel’s ground offensive, with the total number of soldiers deployed inside Lebanon now likely over 10,000.

The 91st “Galilee” Regional Division, which is normally responsible for the entire Lebanon border area, joins the IDF’s 98th and 36th divisions, which have been operating in southern Lebanon since last week.

Israel’s raids in southern Lebanon have focused on Hezbollah’s “centers of gravity” in southern Lebanon villages, where troops have so far found massive amounts of weapons, military sources said. Israel has said Hezbollah was planning a large-scale October 7-style attack on northern communities to massacre and kidnap Israeli civilians.

The IDF has said the operations in southern Lebanon will expand as needed, but that it still intends for the operations to end as quickly as possible — within a few weeks. However, there are signs that the fighting is set to expand.

On Monday morning, the IDF issued new calls to Lebanese civilians in more than two dozen villages and towns in southern Lebanon to evacuate immediately and head north of the Awali River.

In recent days, the military has called on dozens of locales in southern Lebanon, including some north of the Litani River, to evacuate. The IDF said it would update the civilians when it is safe to return.

The 91st Division began ground operations inside southern Lebanon Sunday with three reserve brigades: the Alexandroni and Alon infantry brigades and the 8th Armored Brigade.

The division’s 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade — responsible for the eastern portion of the border — was continuing defensive operations, the military added.

Amid the fighting, Hezbollah launched some 40 rockets at northern Israel on Monday morning, as Israel marked the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack.

Some 15 rockets were fired before 7 a.m. at the Karmiel area, a city of some 50,000 approximately 16 kilometers (10 miles) from the Lebanon border. Some of the rockets were intercepted and the rest struck open areas, the IDF said.

Shortly before 9 a.m., another 20 rockets were launched at the Western Galilee. At least one of the rockets landed in Kfar Vradim, causing damage to several cars. The IDF said most of the rockets launched in the attack were intercepted.

Several more rockets were fired at the Dovev area later in the morning, which all hit open land according to the IDF.

There were no reports of injuries in the attacks.

Aside from putting boots on the ground in southern Lebanon, the IDF has also pounded Hezbollah from the air, repeatedly hitting the Iran-backed group’s holdings near Beirut in recent days.

Overnight, the IDF said it carried out strikes against Hezbollah intelligence sites and weapon depots in Beirut.

Strikes were also carried out against the terror group’s sites in southern Lebanon and the Beqaa Valley, including weapon depots, a command room, and a rocket launcher, the military added.

In a separate development overnight, the military said three drones launched from the east, a term used in the past by the IDF to describe attacks from Iraq, were shot down by the Israeli Air Force.

In the first incident, at around 1 a.m. a drone heading toward Israel was intercepted outside of Israeli airspace, the IDF said.

Hours later, shortly after 5 a.m., the military said two drones were shot down by the Israeli Air Force off the coast of Rishon Lezion. Sirens had sounded in Rishon Lezion and Palmachim amid the incident.

The Iran-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq took responsibility for the attack, claiming to have targeted a “military target” in Israel with a drone.

On Sunday, the chief of the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Michael Kurilla held an assessment with IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, the Israeli military said.

“The general’s visit dealt with the security issues at hand, with an emphasis on Iran and the northern front,” the IDF said.

The visit came amid preparations in the IDF for a response to Iran’s attack against Israel with some 200 ballistic missiles last week, which Iran said was retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

The past two weeks have seen Israel step up its strikes on Hezbollah in Lebanon, all but decimating the terror group’s top command in a series of massive airstrikes on Beirut and southern Lebanon.

The escalation followed Israel’s decision last month to make the return home of northern residents an official war aim. Some 60,000 residents were evacuated from northern towns on the Lebanon border shortly after Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, out of fear Hezbollah would carry out a similar attack.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against Hamas there.

The skirmishes resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, and — in addition to the 11 soldiers killed in the ground operation — the deaths of 22 IDF soldiers and reservists. The IDF’s toll in the ground offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon and during operations on the border stands at 11.

Two soldiers in northern Israel have been killed in a drone attack from Iraq, and there have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 516 members — including Nasrallah — who have been killed by Israel during the war, mostly in Lebanon but also some in Syria. Another 94 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have also been killed.

These numbers have not been consistently updated since Israel began its new offensive against Hezbollah in September, including the ground operation in which the military says at least 440 Hezbollah operatives have been killed.