The IDF published the name of a fourth soldier killed in the overnight Thursday-Friday incident in southern Lebanon that also claimed the life of the 52nd Battalion commander. The soldier, from the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade, fell alongside the battalion commander and two other crew members when their Merkava IV tank was struck by a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile. His name was released early Sunday morning per IDF protocol.
The IDF early Sunday (08:05 Jerusalem) released the name of the fourth soldier killed in the Thursday-Friday tank incident in southern Lebanon, completing the identification of all four crew members. The soldier, a member of the 52nd Battalion (401st Armored Brigade), died alongside battalion commander Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon and two other crew members when their Merkava IV (Barak) tank was struck by a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile. The IDF had previously named the battalion commander and the other two crew members at 00:44 Jerusalem Sunday. The tank and the soldiers' bodies remain unrecovered at the site, as the IDF confirmed at 00:44 Jerusalem Sunday.
As The Zioneer reported, the incident unfolded overnight Thursday-Friday in the Nabatieh area. President Isaac Herzog confirmed the deaths of the four tank crew members on Friday (10:42 Jerusalem). Hezbollah issued a detailed operational account Friday (16:51 Jerusalem), claiming it struck three Merkava tanks with ATGMs and then shelled the force with artillery, forcing the IDF to abort an advance toward the Ali al-Taher ridge. The IDF had not responded to that claim. Separately, a Maglan commando fighter was killed in southern Lebanon on Saturday, and the IDF released his name Saturday night (00:04 Jerusalem Sunday). In total, five IDF soldiers were killed over the weekend in southern Lebanon.
What remains open: The IDF has not indicated when or how the tank and remains will be recovered from the strike site, nor has it responded to Hezbollah's detailed operational account of the incident.
4 developments
- StrongIDF names fallen Maglan fighter killed in southern Lebanon Saturday
- StrongIDF names two soldiers killed in separate southern Lebanon operations Saturday
- StrongHezbollah releases detailed claim of responsibility for tank strike that killed 52nd Battalion commander
- DevelopingTwo IDF Soldiers Killed, Four Wounded in Southern Lebanon Incidents
Source and signal
- Internal intake