Four IDF soldiers killed by explosive drone strike in southern Lebanon

The IDF said Friday that four soldiers were killed Thursday night by an explosive drone that struck in the Lebanese village of Teibneh, near Beaufort in southern Lebanon. Among the dead were Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Shamim, 32, from Beit She’an, commander of Battalion 52 in the Iron Tracks Division, and soldier Noa Havshush from the settlement of Adam in the Binyamin region. The names of the other two fallen soldiers have not yet been cleared for publication.

Initial findings say that around 12:20 a.m., a suspicious target hit the tank of Battalion 52 forces operating under the Givati Brigade combat team in the Teibneh area. The strike killed Ben Shamim and three other IDF soldiers. Afterward, the IDF attacked multiple Hezbollah infrastructure sites in Nabatieh and other areas of southern Lebanon.

The military said 23 soldiers have been killed in Lebanon since the ceasefire was announced in April. Ben Shamim assumed command of Battalion 52 on April 20, 2026, about a week after the battalion commander was seriously wounded in combat, and led the unit through the past two months of fighting. He had spent much of his career in Armored Corps service with the 401st Brigade, later served as chief of staff to the Northern Command during Operation Northern Arrows, and returned in April from a command and staff course to lead the battalion.

Ben Shamim was married and the father of two daughters. He came from a family of soldiers, with four brothers enlisting in the 401st Brigade and another brother joining the Golani Brigade. His wife serves as a combat officer in the Field Intelligence and Border Corps. The army said he kept taking on responsibility in difficult combat moments and died while leading his men at the front.