An Israeli reservist with dual citizenship in the US and Israel has been killed by a Hezbollah missile strike in northern Israel. 

Staff Sergeant Omer Balva, 22, was killed on Friday night by an anti-tank missile attack near the border with Lebanon, where cross-border skirmishes are intensifying, the Times of Israel reported. 

Balva grew up in Rockville, Maryland and was in the US when he was called up for reserve service last week, promptly flying back to Israel to report for duty.

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) says that in response to Hezbollah missile strikes, it launched a number of manned and unmanned airstrikes targeting the group’s positions in southern Lebanon.

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The rising tensions in the north came as the IDF massed forces in southern Israel in preparation for a ground assault on the Gaza Strip, two weeks after Hamas launched a deadly surprise attack from the Palestinian enclave.

Developing story, more to follow. 

Dual Israeli-American citizen Omer Balva, 22, was killed on Friday night by an anti-tank missile attack near the border with Lebanon after being called up for IDF reserve duty