The IDF spokesperson cleared for publication Saturday evening that Sgt. First Class Nir Ben Ari, 21, a fighter in the Commando Brigade from Kerem Maharal, was killed overnight in southern Lebanon by Hezbollah rocket and explosive drone fire. It was also cleared for publication that Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, 21, from Herzliya, an armored corps soldier in the 52nd Battalion, was killed in the tank incident involving the battalion commander overnight Thursday into Friday.
Ben Ari, who served as a fighter in the Maglan commando unit and as a company sergeant major, was due to begin his discharge leave at the end of the month. Overnight, rockets and drones were fired toward the village of Tebnit, where the troops were deployed at about 1:30 a.m. He was killed and 13 other soldiers were wounded, including one seriously.
Nir was born and raised in the moshav of Kerem Maharal and is survived by three siblings: Guy, Shai and Shir. He was due to celebrate his 22nd birthday in nine days. He attended HaOmer School and Kfar Galim High School, where he studied advanced English, math and physics. As a child, he played basketball, and before his military service he spent a year at the Jerusalem pre-military academy.
His family said he “loved life, his family and his friends. He had a special bond with his two brothers and his sister, Shir. He was a kid with an incredible presence. Always happy. Always surrounded by friends. A very strong kid, both physically and mentally. First in everything.” They shared the things he would not get to do: “At the beginning of the week, he had a motorcycle driving test scheduled. He had a plane ticket to Thailand for mid-August.”
Family friend Nir Baruch said Ben Ari had been home only Friday but chose to return to his friends and enter Lebanon. At 7 a.m. Saturday, there was a knock on the door, and his father, Yaron, thought his son had come home. Instead, he received the worst possible news.
Asif Izak, head of the Hof HaCarmel Regional Council, paid tribute to him, saying: “Nir was the salt of the earth in every sense of the word — a young man of values, an outstanding student, an athlete, a fighter and a commander, but above all a person who loved life, his family and his friends, and was always surrounded by people drawn to his light, his joy for life and his special presence. Nir was on the threshold of a new chapter in his life, with countless plans, dreams and a promising future that was brutally cut short.”
Alfa Weinberger, principal of Kfar Galim High School, where Ben Ari studied, wrote that “Nir graduated in 2022 and studied biology and physics. His family is an inseparable part of us.” Last month, Staff Sgt. Noam Hamburger, who also studied at Kfar Galim, was killed by an explosive drone in southern Lebanon. Weinberger added: “This is a second, unbearably heavy loss for our community. The heart breaks in the face of young lives cut short and the family’s immense pain.”
The tank incident
The second fallen soldier whose name was cleared for publication Saturday evening, Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, was killed the previous night, between Thursday and Friday, in the tank incident alongside his commander, Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon, commander of the 52nd Armored Battalion, and two other soldiers whose names have not yet been released.
It was revealed Saturday evening that the crew had taken part in an operation to seize a fortified Hezbollah compound in the area of Ali Taher Ridge. Troops now have operational control of the compound, one of Hezbollah’s main centers of gravity in southern Lebanon. A senior military official said dozens of terrorists are trapped inside the compound, from which Hezbollah directs the fighting in the area.
The deadly incident occurred near the village of Tebnit in southern Lebanon, in the Nabatieh area. At about 12:20 a.m., a “suspicious target” struck a tank belonging to forces from the 52nd Battalion operating under the command of the Givati Brigade combat team. As of now, the IDF has not yet determined what hit the tank, and the military has examined several possibilities. However, the possibility that it was an accident or malfunction has been ruled out, and it was determined to have been an external strike — meaning an explosive drone or an anti-tank missile. The strike on the tank killed Ben Simhon and three soldiers.
Combat conditions in the sector and the risk to troops severely limited access to the damaged tank, preventing the relevant teams from reaching it, towing it away and trying to determine what happened. The IDF initially believed it may have been an explosive device, but later assessed that scenario as unlikely. A second possibility examined was an advanced anti-tank missile, though initial findings partly ruled that out. Another possibility under review was an explosive drone carrying an anti-tank missile warhead capable of penetrating the tank.
First published: 21:05, 06.20.26