The IDF continues to investigate the serious incident in which four soldiers of the 52nd Armored Battalion were killed, including the battalion commander, Lt. Col. Dor Ben Simhon, 41, soldier Sergeant Yoav Klein, 41, and two additional soldiers whose names have not yet been released.
The incident occurred on Friday night as part of an operation that Division 36 has been carrying out over the past week on the Ali Taher ridge south of Nabatieh.
According to a preliminary investigation - published this evening (Saturday night) in 'Kan News' - Hezbollah carried out a combined attack and launched anti-tank missiles, probably Kornet type, at the tank and at least one explosive drone.
According to the investigation's findings, after the anti-tank missiles were fired, an armed drone managed to penetrate the tank through the rear corridor - the tank's rear door, apparently carrying anti-tank ammunition, and exploded inside the vehicle, leading to the tragic outcome.
The IDF notes that the drone's penetration into the tank is the focus of the Armored Corps' investigation. They also emphasized that according to the findings collected so far, the explosion inside the tank was not caused by a technical malfunction.
The IDF has not yet recovered the tank from southern Lebanon, which is delaying the ability to conduct a more in-depth investigation of the incident.
The IDF estimates that the tank will be recovered in the coming days, after which it will be possible to conduct additional tests and draw full conclusions.
Earlier, the IDF said that the operation in which the tank fighters fell was an operation to capture a large Hezbollah underground network in the Ali Taher Ridge.
""These are several underground complexes, one of which is more than a kilometer long and the rest are several hundred meters long," said a senior IDF officer. "This is unprecedented strategic infrastructure, Hezbollah's nerve center in southern Lebanon - the main headquarters of Hezbollah's Badr unit.".
