Israeli authorities on Friday cleared for publication the name of the second soldier killed in a severe overnight incident in southern Lebanon: Nave Havshush, from the settlement of Adam in the Binyamin Regional Council. He was among four soldiers killed when a suspected target struck a tank operating in the area of the village of Tbeineh, where Battalion 52 was deployed under the Givati Brigade combat team.
Havshush fell alongside Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Shimon, whose name was released earlier, and two additional soldiers whose names are still withheld. The army said the circumstances are being investigated operationally, and it has not yet been definitively determined that the strike was caused by an explosive drone.
Havshush’s parents, Chaim and Einav Havshush, issued a moving Facebook tribute saying they were “heartbroken” to announce that their beloved son was killed while fighting in Lebanon “as he defended the people of Israel and the Land of Israel.” They described him as “a child of light,” kind, intelligent, sensitive, and loving, and said he was a son, brother, and friend who always noticed others and helped them. They added that he loved Israel deeply and was especially attached to hiking and the country’s landscapes.
The family wrote that Nave would want them to keep going: to continue loving the land, traveling through it, and living in it. They said, “For the right of all of us to continue walking Israel’s trails safely, Nave fought.” Separately, the army said another reserve officer was badly wounded in a different overnight incident in southern Lebanon involving a suspected explosive drone, and four other noncommissioned officers were lightly hurt. All of the wounded were evacuated for treatment and their families were notified. In response to Hezbollah’s violations and continued threats, the IDF also struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon overnight and again in the morning, hitting terrorists and terror infrastructure in several areas.
