IDF chief ousts senior officer over Lebanon incident that killed civilian, soldier

Military Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir ordered a reserves colonel to be removed from service Monday due to a November 2024 incident in southern Lebanon that resulted in the deaths of Sgt. Gur Kehati and civilian researcher Ze’ev Erlich.

In an announcement on Monday, the Israel Defense Forces said that Zamir accepted the findings of an operational debriefing into the incident and decided that Col. (res.) Yoav Yarom would receive a severe command reprimand, be dismissed from reserve duty, and end his service in the IDF.

Zamir viewed the incident as a “grave operational failure” with tragic consequences, adding that some of the shortcomings point to broader cultural and operational gaps within the IDF that must be addressed at a systemic level.

Zamir’s decision followed Military Advocate General Maj. Gen. Itai Ofir’s move to close a criminal investigation into Yarom’s actions earlier this month, while recommending that he be sanctioned at the command level.

That probe found serious flaws in Yarom’s conduct, including inadequate preparation and execution of the operation, as well as the entry of a civilian into a combat zone without the required approval or proper operational planning.

On November 20, 2024, Yarom — who served as chief of staff of the Golani Brigade in the reserves — allowed Erlich to enter the western sector of southern Lebanon, in IDF uniform, to examine an archaeological site without the necessary approvals. Erlich had long served in the military reserves despite his advanced age, but was not in active service at the time of his entry into Lebanon.

The visit took place at the height of an Israeli ground offensive against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, a week before a ceasefire between Israel and the terror group brought a halt to more than a year of hostilities. The Times of Israel’s Emanuel Fabian and other journalists had been escorted by the army to an adjacent village at the same time.

Yarom and Erlich were joined by a team of soldiers as they entered a medieval fortress in the southern Lebanese village of Shamaa, revered by Christians and Shiite Muslims as the 1st-century burial place of Saint Peter.

Believing the area had been cleared of threats, Yarom led Erlich and accompanying troops to the site, where two Hezbollah operatives ambushed the forces, killing Erlich and Kehati. An officer was seriously wounded, and Yarom himself was moderately wounded, before the gunmen were killed.

Yarom asked to resign from his position a week after the incident, though he was already slated to be dismissed after recovering from his wounds. In a letter to the commander of the Golani Brigade, Yarom said he took responsibility for the incident, despite the fact that an official investigation had not been completed.

Following an extensive Military Police investigation, the Military Prosecution in September decided to indict Yarom with the charge of reckless homicide, subject to a hearing. It was that probe that the military advocate general closed earlier this month.

Col. (res.) Ran Cohen Rochverger, the attorney representing Kehati’s family, responded to Ofir’s decision at the time by saying that the family received the announcement “with shock, frustration, and pain.”

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.