The Israel Defense Forces has announced the accidental death of Master Sgt. (res.) Basel Sweid, 32, a reservist driver serving with the 75th Battalion. Sweid, who hailed from the Druze village of Peki’in, lost his life when his vehicle rolled over in southern Lebanon.
A second IDF soldier was moderately injured in the same incident. That soldier was transported to a hospital for care, and his family was informed of the situation.
Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, the spiritual leader of Israel’s Druze community, spoke about Sweid’s dedication, noting that he had served hundreds of days in reserve duty and viewed his military service as both a calling and an honor to protect his country.
Sheikh Tarif also described Sweid’s character beyond the battlefield. “Basel was a man of giving who volunteered for many months at the emergency operations center established by the Druze community following the massacre of Druze in Syria in July 2025,” he said.
In civilian life, Sweid had worked as an operations coordinator in the administrative management division at Rambam Health Care Campus.
In a completely separate incident, the IDF confirmed that a civilian contractor working for the Defense Ministry was killed on Wednesday inside the Gaza Strip. The contractor, identified as Raad Abu al-Qi’an of Hura, was employed by a private company performing demolition work on behalf of the Defense Ministry.
Abu al-Qi’an was operating heavy machinery when a structure unexpectedly collapsed, killing him at the scene. The IDF categorized the death as an operational accident and confirmed that his family had been notified. Both the military and the Defense Ministry offered their condolences to his loved ones.
