Live Update arrow right icon From the Liveblog of Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Col. Ayub Kayuf takes command of IDF’s Golani Brigade

By Emanuel Fabian 3 June 2026, 5:11 pm
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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Incoming Golani Brigade commander Col. Ayub Kayuf (left), 36th Division commander Brig. Gen. Yiftah Norkin (center), and outgoing Golani commander Col. Adi Gonen, during a handover ceremony at the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, June 3, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
Incoming Golani Brigade commander Col. Ayub Kayuf (left), 36th Division commander Brig. Gen. Yiftah Norkin (center), and outgoing Golani commander Col. Adi Gonen, during a handover ceremony at the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon, June 3, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Col. Ayub Kayuf took charge of the IDF’s Golani Brigade from Col. Adi Gonen, during a handover ceremony held this morning at the Beaufort Castle in southern Lebanon.

Kayuf previously commanded the Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag Unit, the Menashe Regional Brigade in the West Bank, and the Operations Department in the Operations Directorate.

Golani troops captured the strategic Beaufort Castle earlier this week.

Hezbollah, meanwhile, publishes a video showing a first-person view (FPV) drone with a night-vision camera flying around the castle, ostensibly on Monday. However, no Israeli troops are visible in the footage.

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