Staff Sgt. Nir Ben Ari, a Magen combat soldier from Kerem Maharal, was killed overnight between Friday and Saturday in southern Lebanon by a mortar shell and an explosive drone, the IDF said earlier today. He was 22 years old and was due to celebrate his birthday in nine days. Ben Ari had studied at Kfar Galim School, and the school and his community described him as an outstanding, value-driven young man who was widely loved.
According to school principal Alfa Weinberger, Ben Ari chose to spend a pre-army preparatory year before enlistment, which meant his friends had already completed their service. He was expected to begin his discharge leave at the end of the month, and the plane tickets for a Thailand trip with friends were already set for August, said family friend and neighbor Meni Baruch. Ben Ari had told relatives and friends, “Tonight, Lebanon, I am coming back on Sunday,” and had been seen in the moshav shortly before returning to operational duty.
Baruch said Ben Ari did not show fear even though his parents were deeply worried. “His father did not sleep at night, his mother did not sleep at night, but he was not afraid at all,” he said. Weinberger recalled him as a standout student who took advanced physics and biology, finished school in 2022, and remained connected to the school afterward, regularly attending memorial ceremonies.
Weinberger also described him as a talented athlete and basketball player who could lead and even win a game alone. “He was the spearhead of the State of Israel,” she said. The Kerem Maharal community called him part of “a generation of heroes.” His death comes as Kfar Galim will mark 30 days tomorrow, Sunday, since the death of another alumnus, Noam Hamburger, who was also killed in Lebanon by an explosive drone strike.
