IDF Colonel Natanel Lasri Dies at 40 After Long Battle with Cancer

Colonel Natanel “Nati” Lasri, head of planning in the IDF Ground Forces and a former commander of the Golan and Hermon Division, died on Saturday at the age of 40 after a prolonged battle with cancer. The LOD-born officer spent most of his adult life in the IDF and continued serving in senior roles even while ill.

Lasri enlisted in 2004 as a fighter in the 401st Armored Brigade. He fought as a tank crew member in the Second Lebanon War and later advanced through a long series of command and staff positions in the Armored Corps and the Ground Forces. Over the years he served in major IDF operations, including Operation Cast Lead, Operation Hot Winter, Operation Pillar of Defense and Operation Protective Edge.

His roles included company commander, battalion operations officer, deputy company commander, commander of the training company in Battalion 52, commander of the tank commanders’ course training company in Battalion 196 of Brigade 460, deputy commander of Battalion 52, assistant head of operations, and operations officer of Division 162. He commanded Battalion 9 from 2019 to 2021, took command of the Golan and Hermon Division in August 2023, and left that post about a year later because of his medical condition. In May 2025 he became head of planning in the Ground Forces, a post he held until his death.

Lasri received a citation from the IDF chief of staff and a commendation from the commander of the Gaza Division for helping block a terror attack near the Israel-Egypt-Gaza border junction. He held a BA in social sciences from Bar-Ilan University, an MA in organizational consulting from the College of Management, and an MA in political science from the University of Haifa. He leaves behind a wife and three children. The 401st Brigade’s “Iron Tracks” association said he grew from fighter to commander in the brigade and that his friends and comrades are deeply mourning him.