Commander of IDF’s 401st Armored Brigade killed in battle in northern Gaza
Col. Ehsan Daqsa and other officers, including battalion commander, hit by explosive device as they leave tanks to walk to observation position in Jabaliya
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The commander of the Israel Defense Force’s 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Ehsan Daqsa, was killed during fighting in the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday, the military announced.
Daqsa, 41, from the Druze town of Daliyat al-Karmel, was one of the most senior officers to have been killed in the fighting in Gaza. In all, six IDF colonels have been killed in the fighting, four of them during the October 7 onslaught.
An IDF probe into the death of Daqsa found that he was outside his tank with other officers when they were hit by an explosive device in Jabaliya, as part of an ongoing offensive there against Hamas.
According to the probe, Daqsa, the commander of the brigade’s 52nd Battalion, and two other officers got out of their tanks in Jabaliya and walked several meters to an observation point.
The site had been booby-trapped with explosives, which killed Daqsa on the spot, seriously wounded the 52nd Battalion commander, and injured the other two officers, who were listed in light and moderate condition.
Daqsa had taken command of the 401st Brigade in June. On October 7, though not on duty, he headed to southern Israel to fight off Hamas’s onslaught, including leading a counteroffensive into the Erez Crossing area that had been taken over by terrorists.
Daqsa had been decorated with a citation from the head of the Northern Command for rescuing wounded paratroopers while under fire during the Battle of Ayta ash-Shab in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War.
Following the deadly incident on Sunday, the IDF appointed Col. Meir Biderman, the deputy head of the 162nd Division, to be the acting commander of the 401st Brigade. Col. Benny Aharon, a former commander of the 401st Brigade, was set to take Biderman’s place.
Lt. Col. Daniel Ella, the former commander of the 52nd Battalion who was moderately wounded during fighting in Gaza in July, was to return as the battalion’s acting commander.
The mayor of Daqsa’s hometown Daliyat al-Karmel, Rafik Halabi, said the town was “wearing black” after the death of the commander.
“With sorrow, pain, and much grief, Daliyat al-Karmel, the IDF, the Druze community and the State of Israel say goodbye to one of its heroes,” Halabi wrote in a post on X.
“A hero, a brave, humble fighter who became a legend, who fought since the beginning of the war.”
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant eulogized Daqsa as “a bold commander, a brave officer, and a man who contributed his energy to the security of the country.”
“I met Ehsan while he was leading his soldiers on their mission to dismantle the Rafah Brigade of Hamas — in this mission too, he showed creativity and aggression, this is how he acted in all his roles, this is how he, unfortunately, fell in battle,” the defense minister said on X.
President Isaac Herzog said that Daqsa’s death was “a loss to Israel and to Israeli society as a whole.”
“I salute him and embrace his family, the community of Daliyat al-Karmel, and our sisters and brothers from the Druze community, who have lost many precious sons since the beginning of the fighting, with devotion, a sense of mission and shared destiny,” the president added.
Former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz also made a statement after the IDF announced the death of the commander, writing on X, “Ehsan is a reminder of the sacrifice of Druze society as a whole, always, and especially in this difficult war.”
“As we continue the battle, we must make sure that the entire Druze society feels equal and a part of our people,” he added.
The IDF launched a fresh offensive in Jabaliya earlier this month, saying it had intelligence of Hamas operatives and infrastructure in the area, alongside efforts by the terror group to re-establish itself there.
