Wife of fallen Tank Battalion Commander Shares Emotional Farewell After Lebanon Incident

Ariel, the widow of Lt. Col. Dor Gdalia Ben Shimon, commander of Battalion 52 in the Armored Corps’ 401st Brigade, published a moving farewell message on Saturday after he was killed in a tank disaster in southern Lebanon. In her post, she said he gave her seven years of “true love,” partnership and family, and left her with two daughters. She wrote that she knew “you would not want to die any other way,” and called him “the commander I wish for every IDF soldier at this time.”

Ariel, who also serves as a combat officer in the Combat Intelligence Corps, recounted how they met eight years ago during her military course. She described first noticing him during a debrief on a traffic accident he had caused, then joked that after a year of teasing and a second year of pursuit, they became a couple and quickly understood it was right. She said he proposed in their kibbutz, praised his smile, intelligence and beauty, and recalled marrying “the kibbutznik who dared to get married in short pants and Teva Naot sandals.”

She said that although they had spent only a few months together in total because of military life, he gave her the seven best years of her life, and she now had to raise their daughters, Ayelet and Gaia, without him. She promised to stay strong and said the girls would know who he was. Her message ended with the words she said at their wedding, “Dor, I do not only want you in my life, I need you in my life,” adding that now he had arranged her “another life.”

Ben Shimon, a resident of Kibbutz Beit Hashita, was 32 when he was killed. He had taken command of Battalion 52 about two months earlier, after the previous commander, Lt. Col. Or Yul, was seriously wounded in combat. Ben Shimon had grown up in the 401st Brigade and held most of its major command positions during his service. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.

The deadly incident took place between Thursday and Friday shortly after midnight, when a suspected aerial object struck a tank from Battalion 52 operating under the Givati Brigade’s combat team near the village of Tebenin. The army has not yet determined whether it was a suicide drone. In response, the IDF struck many Hezbollah targets in Nabatieh and other parts of southern Lebanon, where reports said dozens were wounded. Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant also eulogized Ben Shimon as an “excellent officer” and a leading battlefield commander who impressed him with his wisdom, determination and dedication.