JERUSALEM: The Israeli army said on Thursday that one soldier was killed and three others were slightly wounded in south Lebanon, where the military has occupied a band of territory since invading in March in response to Hezbollah attacks. “Captain Eliav Haim Tzapalamus, aged 21, from Haifa, a combat officer in the 603rd Battalion, 7th Brigade, fell in combat in southern Lebanon,” the army said. Tzapalamus is the 17th Israeli soldier to be killed since a ceasefire was reached in June between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a framework deal that involves the disarmament of Hezbollah, a gradual withdrawal of Israeli forces and the deployment of the Lebanese army to the region. On Thursday, visiting EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told AFP in Beirut that the bloc favored avoiding a security vacuum and extending a UN peacekeeping mandate in south Lebanon. The EU’s top diplomat also said that the bloc would soon be launching a training mission for the under-resourced Lebanese army. Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in Lebanon have killed more than 4,300 since March, according to Lebanese official figures.