Hezbollah breached the ceasefire overnight, striking an IDF tank in southern Lebanon and killing four soldiers — including 52nd Battalion commander Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon, 32, of Beit Hashita, the IDF announced Friday. The IDF is conducting extensive strikes in southern Lebanon in response.
Hezbollah breached the ceasefire with Lebanon overnight, striking an IDF tank in southern Lebanon and killing four soldiers — including 52nd Battalion commander Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon, 32, of Beit Hashita, the IDF announced Friday morning. The tank crew of three additional soldiers fell alongside him.
As The Zioneer reported from Friday 09:31 Jerusalem, initial IDF statements described the weapon as an anti-tank guided missile; by 09:31, preliminary investigation findings circulated by Israeli media and military sources suggested the tank, near the village of Tebenin, had been struck by an explosive drone — though the IDF cautioned that the nature of the weapon had not been definitively determined. The same version noted Iran canceled its planned arrival in Switzerland for talks to protest what it called Israel's ceasefire violation, according to Amit Segal (N12). The IDF subsequently launched broad attacks on Hezbollah infrastructure in Nabatieh and other areas of southern Lebanon.
Ben Simhon took command of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade) on April 20, about a week after his predecessor was severely wounded in combat. He had served most of his career in the 401st Brigade, and was a married father of two. His brother also serves in the 401st; his wife is a combat officer in the Intelligence Corps. The IDF described him as taking command "under complex circumstances" and leading the battalion in recent months.
This is the deadliest single incident for the IDF in southern Lebanon since June 7, when two soldiers were killed in separate incidents — one by a Hezbollah drone, the other in a suspected accidental discharge — as The Zioneer reported from Sunday 06:01 Jerusalem. Further details on the weapon that struck the tank, and the identities of the three additional soldiers, remain pending official confirmation.
10 developments
- DevelopingIDF says it struck 70+ Hezbollah sites, eliminated seven operatives from underground route
- DevelopingIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives fleeing rocket launch site in southern Lebanon
- StrongIDF says Hezbollah fired over 50 rockets at troops in south Lebanon overnight; strikes dozens of targets in response
- StrongHezbollah footage claims to show anti-tank missile strike on IDF tank that killed four soldiers
Source and signal
- Internal intake