The IDF announced Tuesday evening that Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom, who served as chief of staff of the Golani Brigade, will not face criminal charges over his involvement in the deaths of Sgt. Gur Kehati and Ze’ev “Jabo” Erlich in Lebanon on November 20 last year. According to the military, Yarom underwent a hearing, after which the Military Advocate General’s Office decided not to indict him. “The tour at the site of the incident was planned in advance and was required for operational purposes,” the IDF said.
The decision was made upon the entry into office of the new military advocate general, Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir, after the Military Advocate General’s Office announced in September its intention to indict Yarom, subject to a hearing. Yarom had also been questioned by the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division on suspicion of causing death by negligence.
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Sgt. Gur Kehati, Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom and Ze’ev 'Jabo' Erlich
(Photos: IDF spokesperson's uni )
In his decision, Ofir effectively fully accepted Yarom’s version of events, previously reported by Ynet, that Erlich’s entry into southern Lebanon stemmed solely from operational needs, despite the fact that Erlich had not been formally mobilized as required by IDF regulations and entered as an “escort” or “guest.”
In announcing the closure of the investigation, the IDF said: “It was decided to close the investigation file without taking criminal action, but with a recommendation to take command-level measures. The investigation file against another individual involved in the incident, who was questioned under caution, will also be closed without criminal proceedings.” The families of Kehati and Erlich were informed of the decision.
Kehati, 20, from the moshav of Nir Banim, served as a fighter in Golani’s 13th Battalion and was killed last November during combat at an archaeological fortress in southern Lebanon, alongside researcher Ze’ev (Jabo) Hanoch Erlich, 70, one of the founders of the settlement of Ofra. Kehati was killed in an encounter with Hezbollah terrorists, and an officer from the same battalion was seriously wounded. Yarom was moderately injured in the incident. Days later, Yarom asked to step down from his post, writing: “In light of the values I was raised on and have preached, and in keeping with the principle of leading by example, I believe I must take command responsibility for the incident.”
‘Erlich joined for operational reasons’
The entry into Lebanon on November 10, 2024, followed a battle days earlier near the village of Shamaa in southern Lebanon, in which Golani Brigade fighter Sgt. Uri Nisanovich was killed. Erlich, an expert in archaeology and terrain analysis, joined the mission at the initiative of Yarom. During debriefing activity at a mosque and an adjacent compound outside the historical fortress, the force was engaged by two Hezbollah terrorists.
It later emerged that Erlich was not in active reserve service and had not been formally mobilized prior to entering southern Lebanon. On suspicion that his entry and participation in combat activity were not part of an operational mission, a Military Police investigation was launched.
“At the conclusion of a comprehensive and thorough investigation, and after examining its findings, it was decided, subject to a hearing, to indict Col. (res.) Yoav Yarum on a charge of causing death by negligence,” the IDF said at the time. “Subsequently, and prior to the hearing, additional testimony was taken from the commander of the patrol force, which could not be collected earlier due to his injury in combat.”
“I invited him to help understand the fortress, for operational reasons, to make sure there were no terrorists there, as we suspected,” Yarom explained then. “He told me that mapping the fortress on the ground would make that possible. He arrived at a forward point near the border and I took him in a secured convoy into Lebanon. When he arrived, he was wearing a military uniform, red combat boots, a helmet, a ceramic military vest and a personal military weapon, so I assumed he had already been formally mobilized.”
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Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom served as chief of staff of the Golani Brigade,
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF explained the decision not to pursue criminal charges. “The combination of investigative findings, the additional testimony collected, and evidence presented during the hearing on behalf of the defense, including a series of opinions from current and former commanders regarding Erlich’s areas of expertise and their reliance on him in operational contexts, led the Military Advocate General’s Office to decide against criminal prosecution,” according to a statement issued by the IDF.
It added that “the evidence showed, among other things, that the tour at the site of the incident was planned in advance by the commander on the ground and was required for operational purposes. It was also determined that Yarum’s claim that he joined the planned tour for operational reasons, and that Erlich also joined for operational reasons, could not be refuted to the criminal standard.”
Kehati family: ‘The prolonged wait for justice has been dashed’
Attorney Ran Cohen Rochverger, who represents the Kehati family, said in response that “the bereaved family received the Military Advocate General’s announcement with shock, frustration and pain. The prolonged wait, in expectation that justice would be done, has been dashed. The family cannot understand how just two months ago the Military Advocate General’s Office announced its intention to indict Yarom for the crime of causing death by negligence, and today the decision was reversed.”
The family added: “Nothing will bring Gur back, but the minimum required is that those responsible for the disaster be held accountable for their actions. The family will decide how to proceed, including in light of the fact that the announcement was delivered just one day before the expiration of the applicability of the Military Justice Law to the suspect.”
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Sgt. Gur Kehati
(Photo: Courtesy of the Haifa Tour Group, The Society for the Protection of Nature)
After the incident, the IDF said Erlich’s entry into Lebanon was carried out in violation of military orders, and the circumstances were defined as “a serious and improper incident.” According to the Kehati family, the soldier was shot and killed while he and his platoon were securing Erlich’s entry, solely due to the army’s desire to conduct a “private tour” for the researcher at the fortress in a combat zone, without clear operational justification. The family also claimed at the time that investigators failed to take testimony from soldiers who were present and witnessed the incident.
About three months after the incident, Kehati’s family met with then-IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi. “It was a long meeting and he took full responsibility for what he described as an exceptional and bad incident,” the family told Ynet afterward. “He said he would do everything to ensure a thorough investigation and uncover the full truth. We told him about many things that happened to us following the incident and afterward, including commanders who came and told us half-truths and even lies. He said he intends to continue accompanying the case even after leaving his post and that it was a very bad incident.”