Friend Pays Tribute to Fallen IDF Battalion Commander After Deadly South Lebanon Battle

Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Shimon, commander of Battalion 52, was killed last weekend in Kfar Tabanit in southern Lebanon at the age of 32. According to the IDF, around 12:20 a.m. a “suspicious target” struck the tank of forces from Battalion 52 operating in the area. Ben Shimon was killed alongside three other fighters.

His close friend, Paz Baram, posted an emotional farewell on Facebook, saying he had known him since infancy and that they grew up side by side in the same neighborhood and later in kindergarten. “How can you say goodbye to your best friend from age zero?” Baram wrote, adding that Ben Shimon was “the best person there is,” always kind, funny, successful, and the first to help, volunteer, and give.

Baram also described Ben Shimon’s military path, from Air Force pilot training to command roles in the armored corps. He said Ben Shimon chose armor because he felt he could contribute more there, and that he remained humble and smiling in every post. During the current war, Baram wrote, Ben Shimon refused special treatment and would not allow visits, wanting to stay equal with regular soldiers.

Ben Shimon, from Kibbutz Beit HaShita, took command of Battalion 52 in April after his predecessor was seriously wounded in combat. He left behind a wife and two daughters, and Baram ended his tribute by promising to care for the family and remember him forever.