IDF soldier dies from injuries sustained in Hezbollah drone attack

IDF reservist succumbs to injuries sustained in last week’s Hezbollah attack on an Arab-Israeli border town.

By World Israel News Staff

An Israeli reserve soldier critically injured in an attack by the Lebanon-based Hezbollah terror group on northern Israel last week succumbed to his injuries and died Sunday, an IDF spokesperson announced.

Last Wednesday, IDF Maj. (res.) Dor Zimel, a 27-year-old from the central Israeli city of Even Yehuda, who had served as a deputy company commander in the Etzioni Brigade, was among 18 people injured when Hezbollah terrorists operating out of southern Lebanon launched missiles and attack drones on the Arab-Israeli community of Arab al-Aramshe.

The victims included 14 IDF soldiers, many of them reservists, and 4 civilians.

Former Kach Party activist Noam Federman’s son, David Federman, was among the IDF soldiers injured in the attack.

Attack drones struck a community center and a passing car, while two anti-tank missiles also hit the village.

Most of the village’s residents had already evacuated, in compliance with the Home Front Command’s guidance for border communities, while the community center was used as a make-shift barracks for IDF soldiers stationed on the border.

In the attack, Zimel suffered critical injuries, including severe brain damage.

Zimel was called up to reserve army duty on October 7th, and had served since then on the Israel-Lebanon border.

At the time of his death, Zimel was engaged to be married to his fiancée, Shir Sagiv, with their wedding scheduled for June.

Zimel had received an engagement ring to give to Shir from the family of Adir Mesika, one of the victims murdered during the Nova music festival massacre on October 7th. Mesika had also been engaged at the time of his murder.

“He impressed people in an unusual way,” Zimel’s friend Matan Katzman told Galey Tzahal Sunday, “just from his captivating personality.”

“He wanted to fight in Gaza, even though he was in the north. He loved the country, the army, his soldiers, and his amazing fiancée.”