The IDF cleared for publication Friday that Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, commander of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade, 162nd Division), was killed in combat in southern Lebanon alongside three other soldiers, according to an IDF announcement distributed via official channels.
The IDF on Friday morning cleared for publication the death of Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, commander of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade), who fell in combat in southern Lebanon alongside three other soldiers. The announcement came at 10:32 Jerusalem, following a sequence of reports The Zioneer has tracked since 09:14. Ben Simhon is the fourth commander of the 52nd Battalion to be killed or severely wounded since October 7; he took command two months ago after his predecessor was wounded in battle.
At 09:45 Jerusalem, The Zioneer reported that four soldiers — including the battalion commander — had been killed overnight by a tank strike near the village of Tebnit (Tebnine), north of the Beaufort fortress. A preliminary IDF probe indicated a suspicious munition struck the tank at around 00:20; the weapon type — an explosive drone or anti-tank missile — has not been definitively determined and remains under investigation. The IDF subsequently struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Nabatieh and other areas of southern Lebanon. The same 09:45 thread also noted that a separate Hezbollah drone incident left a reserve officer severely wounded and four NCOs lightly wounded.
As The Zioneer reported at 10:24 Jerusalem, the Gilboa Regional Council mourned Ben Simhon, describing him as a devoted commander who led from the front in complex fighting. He was a resident of Kibbutz Beit Hashita. The wider context includes an earlier incident on Thursday, June 18, in which Staff Sgt. Alexander Filin was killed by a Hezbollah IED during a foot patrol in the Litani area, with the deputy commander of the 36th Division among the wounded — reflecting sustained friction in the security zone.
The precise cause of the tank strike — whether from a loitering drone or a guided anti-tank missile — remains under IDF investigation, with no final determination announced. The identities of the three other soldiers killed alongside Ben Simhon have not yet been cleared for publication.
8 developments
- StrongDefense Minister Katz eulogizes fallen 52nd Battalion commander and three soldiers in Lebanon
- DevelopingPM Netanyahu: 'Nation's heart aches' after four soldiers killed in Lebanon
- StrongIDF names fourth soldier killed alongside 52nd Battalion commander in southern Lebanon
- StrongIDF appoints fifth acting commander for 52nd Battalion since war began
Source and signal
- Internal intake