Four Israel Defense Forces soldiers were killed shortly after midnight during new fighting in Southern Lebanon triggered by a Hezbollah drone strike targeting a tank, the military announced on Friday.
The IDF identified one of the slain men as Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, from Kibbutz Beit HaShita, commander of the 52nd “The Breachers” Battalion in the 401st “Iron Tracks” Brigade. Ben Simhon took up his post two months ago, after his predecessor was severely wounded. He leaves behind a wife and two young daughters.
The names of the three other soldiers killed in the attack have not yet been cleared for publication. Their families have been notified.
According to initial reports, the soldiers were killed in Kfar Tebnit when an explosive drone struck the battalion commander’s tank.
The incident marked a significant escalation along the northern border and underscored continuing tensions despite the ceasefire arrangements between Israel and Lebanon.
The attack was one of the most serious Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire in recent months, military sources said. Israeli officials said the drone strike on the battalion commander’s tank left the IDF with no choice but to respond forcefully against Hezbollah infrastructure in Southern Lebanon.
In the same area around 4 a.m., an IDF reserve officer sustained severe injuries, and three reserve soldiers and a soldier in regular service were lightly wounded in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack on a Commando Brigade combat team operating under the 36th Division.
Following the attacks, the IDF launched extensive strikes across Southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah positions and infrastructure. The military said that in response to repeated Hezbollah ceasefire violations, Israeli forces struck more than 80 terrorist targets, including two Hezbollah command centers in the Bekaa Valley, and killed dozens of Hezbollah gunmen.
“Hezbollah continues to advance and carry out terrorist attacks against IDF forces,” the military said, adding that the strikes targeted infrastructure used by the group to support its ongoing attacks against Israeli troops.
“Hezbollah has shown time and time again: It is not committed to the ceasefire, but to causing instability in the region,” an IDF statement said.
The latest fighting in Lebanon also appeared to have broader diplomatic repercussions. Iran canceled a planned delegation trip to Switzerland for talks related to the recently signed U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding, reportedly citing Israeli military operations in Lebanon as a violation of the MoU.
The cancellation came after the White House announced that U.S. Vice President JD Vance had postponed his own trip to Switzerland, where technical talks on implementing the agreement had been expected to begin.
The IDF has not yet released additional details about the circumstances of the attack or the identities of the other three slain soldiers.
Ben Simhon is the latest senior officer to fall during Israel’s ongoing military operations against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon. He and his four brothers all enlisted in the 401st Brigade, and another brother enlisted in the Golani Infantry Brigade, Ynet reported. His wife serves as a combat officer in the IDF Combat Intelligence Collection and Border Defense Corps.
The military said further information would be released as it becomes available.
