An IDF officer and three soldiers from the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion were killed Monday in a deadly clash with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon, the military said.
The four were identified as Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22; Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21; Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21; and Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21. They were killed during an encounter with Hezbollah terrorists in the western sector of southern Lebanon, near the village of Beit Lif.
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Capt. Noam Madmoni, Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis, Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel
(Photo: IDF)
Entis, 21, from Bat Yam, enlisted in the military in November 2023. He is survived by his parents, Larisa and Leon, and two older siblings, Eddie and Jenia. His funeral is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday at the military cemetery in Holon.
His last conversation with his family was a week earlier, over Zoom, before entering Lebanon. “He showed us his gear, all packed for going into the war in Lebanon,” his brother Eddie recalled. “I can’t forget what he said to his 7-year-old niece: ‘I’m going to make history. You’ll learn about it in school.’”
His siblings said Maxsim had wanted a combat role and was determined to serve specifically in the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion. “He wanted the most demanding combat service,” they said. “His message to the world was, ‘Everything is OK, no matter how hard it is.’ That is how we will remember him. He would walk into a room and immediately spread his light and energy. He was positive and lifted everyone up with his huge heart. He wanted the best in the army. Before enlisting, he trained in the sand dunes to fulfill his dream of getting into the battalion.”
Eddie, who also served in a combat role, said his brother had fought in Gaza and the West Bank before he was killed in Lebanon.
“Max was a smiling person who wanted to help everyone,” he said. “No matter how difficult or challenging life was, he would always tell you, ‘Everything is OK,’ and smile with his beautiful blue eyes. He won people over. He loved everyone. He went into the army out of a sense of mission and a desire to protect the people of Israel. He was a pure person who always wanted what was best for everyone.”
Recalling their conversations, Eddie said his brother would tell the family: “You know, we’re fighters. I don’t have difficulties, no matter how hard it is. Everything is OK. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. Stay calm. You can sleep well at night — I’m protecting you.”
His sister Jenia said: “My little brother was one of a kind — a hero, full of life, someone who brought joy everywhere he went. Anyone who knew him, or who will come to know him through our stories, will understand that he was like the sun wherever he was. My children adored him. He was amazing, caring toward everyone — his friends, his family — always making sure others were OK long before thinking about himself. Sadly, we will not be able to hug him again, but he will always be with us in our hearts.”
Bat Yam Mayor Zvika Brot visited the family to offer condolences. During the visit, an air raid siren sounded and he went with them to a shelter, where neighbors also came to comfort the family.
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Staff Sgt. Maxsim Entis (left) with his brother Eddie and father Leon
(Photo: Courtesy of the family)
Brot said Entis, a graduate of the city’s Shazar High School, had been deeply proud to serve in the Nahal Reconnaissance battalion. “The green beret was an important goal for him,” the mayor said. “He brought great light in his life.”
Shazar High School principal Shimrit Shai said Entis graduated in 2023 and was the third graduate of the school to be killed. “He was a captivating student with a big smile,” she said. “He set a goal and achieved it. He had a great deal of support from home in striving for success. It was very important to him to get into the reconnaissance battalion, and I had many conversations with him about it. It is hard to speak about him in the past tense. He studied theater and was simply a superstar in his class.”
Noam Madmoni
Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22, of Sderot, a team commander in the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion, attended the Torani Hadash elementary school in the city and later studied at the yeshiva high school in Kfar Maimon. He was also a member of the Bnei Akiva youth movement.
He is survived by his parents, Boaz and Sharona, his brother Uri and his sisters Hadar and Aviya.
The Sderot municipality said it had received word “with deep sorrow and great pain” of Madmoni’s death in the clash with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. “Alongside him, three of his brave soldiers also fell, and we send our condolences to their families,” the municipality said.
Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi visited the family early Tuesday and later paid tribute to Madmoni, calling him part of a “large, rooted, well-known and beloved” family in the city.
“He grew up on values and giving,” Davidi said. “He was a member of Bnei Akiva and, in the fullest sense of the phrase, the salt of the earth. He was a quiet and admired leader whom everyone knew would go far.”
Davidi said that during an operation by the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion in the western sector of southern Lebanon on Monday evening, Madmoni and his team encountered Hezbollah cells at close range.
“They fought with supreme bravery and returned fire,” he said. “Even in the most difficult moments, under heavy exchanges of fire and while evacuating the wounded, when the terrorists also fired an anti-tank missile at the forces, our soldiers did not retreat and did everything to complete the mission and protect one another.”
“In my name and on behalf of all the residents of Sderot, I send heartfelt condolences to the Madmoni family, to the parents and families of the three other soldiers who fell in this battle,” he added. “Noam, our hero, an entire city is mourning you today. May his memory be a blessing.”
Ben Cohen
Staff Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21, of Lehavim, was an avid supporter of the Hapoel Be’er Sheva soccer club. “He never missed a home or away match, going back to the days of Gate 5 at Vasermil,” the club said in a statement.
His funeral is scheduled for 3 p.m. Tuesday at the cemetery in Lehavim. Cohen had previously told his family that if the worst were to happen, he wanted everyone attending his funeral to wear a red shirt.
One of his close friends, Niv Vaknin, a player on Hapoel Be’er Sheva’s youth team, paid tribute in a message shared publicly. “My best friend. A week ago you told me your dream was to wear a shirt with my name on the back,” Vaknin wrote. “You were my partner in everything. I love you more than anything in the world. I will honor your memory everywhere. How do we go on from here?”
Lehavim council head Elad Arazi said the community had woken “to great pain” on learning of Cohen’s death.“Ben, the salt of the earth, a resident of Lehavim, son of Tzvika, who grew up in the community, and beloved Sarit, and brother of dear Shai, fell last night as a fighter in the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion in a heroic battle against Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon,” Arazi said.
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Cohen, as a child, walks onto the pitch with Hapoel Be’er Sheva players
(Photo: Shai Mugilevsky)
“The entire Lehavim community bows its head in grief, mourns and embraces the family,” he added. “Sarit, Tzvika and Shai, I and the entire Lehavim community grieve with you and embrace you and your family. Our condolences to all the families of those killed in this difficult battle. Our hearts are shattered.”
Gilad Harel
Staff Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, of Modi’in, was a graduate of the Yahad school. He is survived by his parents, Keren and Eitan, and his sister Adi.
Modi’in Mayor Haim Bibas paid tribute to Harel, saying the city had received word of his death “with great sorrow and deep pain.”
“In my name and on behalf of the residents of Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut, I share in the heavy grief of the entire family and his friends,” Bibas said. “May Gilad’s memory be a blessing.”