The IDF said Monday that Lt. Col. G. will be appointed commander of the 52nd Battalion, replacing Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, who was killed last week in a tank explosion in southern Lebanon.
Ben Simhon was killed alongside three soldiers: Staff Sgt. Nave Habshoosh, Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein and Staff Sgt. Liav Kababia.
The appointment was approved Sunday during a placement discussion led by Maj. Gen. Nadav Lotan, commander of the Ground Forces. Lt. Col. G. is expected to assume the role in the coming days.
Lt. Col. N., deputy commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, who temporarily commanded the 52nd Battalion after Ben Simhon’s death, will return to his previous post.
The military said G. began his service in the 188th Armored Brigade, where he held several positions. At the start of the war, he served as operations officer of the 215th Fire Brigade, later commanded a control center in the Northern Brigade and fought in the Gaza Strip. Over the past year, he established the Dead Sea control center, also known as the 843rd Nir Battalion.
Ben Simhon had taken command of the 52nd Battalion in April, replacing Lt. Col. A., who was seriously wounded in combat in southern Lebanon. He led the battalion during a difficult period of fighting, the military said.
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Staff Sgt. Yoav Klein, Staff Sgt. Nave Habshoosh, Staff Sgt. Liav Kababia
(Photo: IDF, courtesy of the families)
Ben Simhon served for most of his career in the 401st Brigade, holding several senior command roles. He later served as chief of staff to the head of Northern Command during 2024's Operation Northern Arrows in Lebanon until the return of northern residents, ending that role last August. After attending the Command and Staff College, he returned to field command in April as commander of the 52nd Battalion.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He came from a military family: He and four of his brothers enlisted in the 401st Brigade, while another brother joined the Golani Brigade. His wife serves as a combat officer in the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps and Border Defense Corps.
The circumstances of the incident that killed Ben Simhon and the three soldiers remain under investigation.
The tank crew had been taking part in an operation to seize a fortified Hezbollah compound near the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, one of Hezbollah’s key strongholds in the area. Israeli forces now have operational control of the compound, where a senior military official said dozens of Hezbollah operatives were trapped.
The incident occurred near Kfar Tebnit in the Nabatieh area. Around 12:20 a.m., a “suspicious target” struck a tank belonging to 52nd Battalion troops operating under the Givati Brigade combat team. The military has not yet determined what hit the tank, but has ruled out an accident or malfunction and determined it was an external strike, either by a drone or an anti-tank missile.