Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon, the fourth commander of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade) to be killed or wounded since October 7, was killed overnight by Hezbollah fire near Tebnine, north of the Beaufort fortress. Three additional soldiers were killed alongside him, the IDF cleared for publication.
Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon, 32, of Beit Hashita, commander of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade), was killed overnight in southern Lebanon — the fourth commander of this battalion to be killed or wounded since October 7, 2023. According to the IDF probe, a suspicious target struck his command tank near the village of Tebnit around 00:20 Friday morning, killing him and three other soldiers. The military cleared his name for publication at 09:32. The munition type — an explosive drone or an anti-tank missile — remains under investigation.
*Earlier reports:* At 09:45, The Zioneer published a thread of successive updates: initial reports stated an explosive drone killed four soldiers including the battalion commander (version 6); the IDF then confirmed Ben Simhon as the fallen officer alongside three others (versions 3 and 4); a separate Hezbollah drone incident wounding five other soldiers was subsequently folded into the coverage (version 5). By 10:07, the separate drone attack was reported as a distinct incident with a reserve officer severely wounded and four NCOs lightly injured. The 09:14 The Zioneer bulletin had already noted Ben Simhon as the fourth battalion commander hit in the war. By 10:22, the IDF's preliminary probe pinpointed the location at Tebnit and described the strike, as The Zioneer reported at 10:22 Jerusalem.
*Background:* The 52nd Battalion has sustained repeated command losses. As The Zioneer previously reported: Lt. Col. Daniel Ela (wounded July 2024 in Rafah, since returned); Lt. Col. Yehuda Shalev (seriously wounded October 2024 in Jabalya, alongside the death of brigade commander Col. Ehsan Daxa); and Lt. Col. A (seriously wounded April 2026 in Bint Jbeil by suspected friendly fire). The 401st Armored Brigade has itself lost two commanders: Col. Ehsan Daxa (killed October 2024) and Col. Meir Biderman (seriously wounded last month by an explosive drone in Debel, southern Lebanon).
The Gaza cease-fire talks in Switzerland were reportedly canceled in response to the attack, according to the Abu Ali Express channel — a claim first carried in The Zioneer's initial bulletin at 09:45. The IDF subsequently struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Nabatieh and other areas of southern Lebanon, confirmed by the military's preliminary probe.
*Open questions:* The exact munition that struck the tank has not been definitively determined; the IDF probe lists both an explosive drone and an anti-tank missile as possibilities. The names of the three other soldiers killed have not yet been cleared for publication.
8 developments
- StrongIDF publishes full biography of fallen 52nd Battalion commander Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon
- StrongDefense Minister Katz eulogizes fallen 52nd Battalion commander and three soldiers in Lebanon
- StrongFour IDF soldiers killed in Hezbollah attack; IDF retaliates with over 80 strikes across Lebanon
- DevelopingIDF announces 30 soldiers killed, over 1,300 wounded in Lebanon since March 2
Source and signal
- Internal intake