Chaim Havshush, father of Staff Sgt. Naveh Havshush who fell in southern Lebanon on Saturday night, told Army Radio Sunday morning that his son had messaged him hours before the incident saying he might be coming home Sunday — but asked him not to tell his mother. Havshush said the family only learned early this morning that Naveh had been identified and would return today, but "not the way we planned." He said they understood he had been killed, but the tank was in a problematic area and recovery crews could not reach him immediately.
In a Sunday morning Army Radio interview, Chaim Havshush — father of Staff Sgt. Naveh Havshush and a reserve deputy brigade commander — described the final exchange he had with his son hours before the tank incident in southern Lebanon. "Naveh wrote to me around 23:00 Saturday night that there was a chance he'd come home Sunday, but asked me not to tell his mother," Havshush recounted. The tank struck an explosive device about an hour and 15 minutes later, according to the Binyamin Regional Council's earlier statement, which The Zioneer published at 07:37 Jerusalem.
As the thread documented, the IDF named Havshush as the fifth soldier killed in the incident at 07:37 Jerusalem, following a series of earlier identifications clearing his name and those of four other soldiers — Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, Staff Sgts. Yoav Klein and Liav Kababia — who fell alongside him. Havshush told Army Radio the family learned early Sunday morning that Naveh had been identified and would be returned, but "the tank was in a problematic area and recovery crews could not reach him immediately."
The Zioneer reported earlier this morning that Havshush's funeral was scheduled for 18:00 at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. His father told the radio: "I knew he was on the front line, but you don't imagine you'll be next. We knew there was risk, but the IDF is stronger and we have no other choice."
It remains unclear exactly how long after the blast recovery teams reached the tank, or whether additional details about the explosive device's placement or the tank's route will emerge from the ongoing military investigation.
8 developments
- StrongNaveh Havshush's father writes moving tribute after son's death in Lebanon
- DevelopingLetter reveals fallen soldier Naveh Havshush saw military service as a privilege
- ConfirmedIDF names Staff Sgt. Naveh Havshush, fifth soldier killed in southern Lebanon tank incident
- DevelopingNaveh Habbashush's body reportedly not yet recovered from Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake