A senior IDF officer said the tank disaster in which Lt. Col. Dor Ben Shimon, commander of Battalion 52, was killed was caused by an external strike, not by an accident.
According to the officer, the tank was hit by either a drone or an anti-tank weapon. He said the incident should not be understood as a mechanical failure or other accidental cause.
The statement was given publicly as the army’s initial assessment of the fatal event. No further details were provided about the exact weapon used, the timing of the strike, or any additional casualties.