Four IDF soldiers were killed Thursday night when a Hezbollah attack drone struck troops near the village of Kfartebnit in southern Lebanon, the military said Friday morning.
Among those killed was Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon, 32, of Kibbutz Beit Hashita, commander of the 52nd Battalion of the 401st Armored Brigade. The names of the three other soldiers were being withheld pending notification of their families.
Several hours later, five soldiers were wounded in the same sector by an explosive-laden first-person-view (FPV) drone, the military said. One of them, a reserve officer, was seriously wounded. Three reserve noncommissioned officers and one career NCO were lightly wounded. Their families were notified.
The first incident occurred around 12:20 a.m., when what the military described as a “suspicious aerial target” struck a tank operated by 52nd Battalion troops, which was serving under the Givati Brigade combat team near Kfartebnit. The military said it could not yet determine conclusively whether the strike was caused by an FPV drone. Ben Simhon and the three other soldiers were killed in the strike.
Ben Simhon had taken command of the 52nd Battalion in April, replacing a lieutenant colonel who was seriously wounded in combat in southern Lebanon. The military said he assumed command during a difficult period and led the battalion with determination and responsibility throughout the past two months of fighting.
Ben Simhon served for most of his career in the 401st Armored Brigade and held several senior command positions. 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 in August. He then attended the Command and Staff College and returned to field command in April as commander of the 52nd Battalion.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters. He grew up in a family of combat soldiers: He and four of his brothers served in the 401st Brigade, while another brother served in the Golani Brigade. His wife serves as a combat officer in the Combat Intelligence Collection Corps and Border Defense Corps.
The Gilboa Regional Council, which includes Kibbutz Beit Hashita, said Ben Simhon “stepped up” when needed and took command of the battalion at a complex moment in the fighting.
“Last night, he fell in battle while leading his men at the front, together with his tank crew — three other soldiers who fell alongside him,” the council said.
Former lawmaker and retired Brig. Gen. Moshe Peled, a family friend, said the kibbutz had suffered a “very heavy disaster.”
“Dor was a high-quality, deeply principled, determined officer, one of the best we had,” Peled said. “The IDF and the state lost an outstanding officer, one of the finest of our sons.”
The second incident occurred around 4 a.m., when an FPV drone struck a force from the Commando Brigade combat team operating under the 36th Division. The five wounded soldiers were evacuated to hospitals in Israel.
The fighting near Kfartebnit is part of operations against what the military described as the last underground Hezbollah area north of Beaufort.
Following the attack, the IDF launched heavy overnight strikes in the Kfartebnit sector and elsewhere in southern Lebanon. According to the military, the response included airstrikes and artillery fire. The IDF said it struck about 100 Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.
“Following repeated violations of the ceasefire by the Hezbollah terrorist organization, the IDF struck throughout the night and continues to strike Hezbollah terrorists and infrastructure sites in several areas across southern Lebanon,” the military said in a statement.
The military also sent a message to residents of communities along Israel's northern border, saying the region had experienced “an extremely difficult night” because of what it described as serious Hezbollah violations of the ceasefire agreement.
“As a result, we were required to respond with significant force,” the message said. “IDF strikes will continue, and sounds of explosions will be heard throughout the area. At this stage, there is no change in defensive guidelines for the civilian home front.”