Israeli army chief removes officer over Lebanon deaths of researcher, soldiers

The Israeli army's chief has ordered the chief of staff in the Golani Brigade, Yoav Yarom, to be removed from service on Monday over an attack in southern Lebanon that killed archaeologist Ze'ev' Jabo' Hanoch Erlich and two Israeli soldiers in November last year.

The army said Yarom, who was also a reservist colonel, would be reprimanded, dismissed from reserve duty and terminated from military service, in a move largely deemed symbolic since he had resigned over the incident in 2024.

Israeli forces revealed in a statement that the military chief, Eyal Zamir, had accepted the findings of an investigation into the incident, calling it a "grave operational failure", after the researcher, who was also a settler, was killed after entering a battlefield with invading Israeli troops to reportedly investigate an ancient fortress.

"This is a grave incident and a severe operational failure that ended tragically," Zamir's statement said. "The probe indicates that Yarom's conduct was seriously flawed."

"Both in preparation for and during the operation, as well as the very decision to bring a civilian into a combat zone without required approvals and proper operational planning."

The group were ambushed by two Hezbollah fighters as they were in a building inside Lebanon. Yarom was said to have been injured and took responsibility for the incident in a letter to the Brigade's commander.

The decision followed Military Advocate Itai Ofir's decision to close a criminal investigation into the incident, recommending that he be sanctioned at the command level.

Elrich was on an apparent mission with the Golani Brigade to explore an ancient shrine in southern Lebanon, which he had reportedly believed to belong to Israel. Yarom alleged that Elrich's need to be on the field was an "operational one".

Many extremist Israeli settlers have claimed that southern Lebanon was an extension of northern Israel, or Galilee, calling for the territory to be annexed and illegal settlements to be built on it. 

The archaeologist was reportedly a well-known Israeli settler in the occupied West Bank who focused his studies on the so-called "Land of Israel" and was recognised as a "fallen soldier" with a military funeral and buried in a military cemetery.

The incident happened during the height of Israel's war on Lebanon as Israel launched its ground invasion into the region, killing over 4,500 people and despite a ceasefire being declared in November 2024, over 120 have been killed since.

Israeli forces remain occupying five hilltops in Lebanon, also in breach of the ceasefire deal.