Command failures led to Yuval Ezra, Benayahu Mellet's deaths in West Bank attacks, IDF announces

An IDF investigation found that operational and command failures contributed to the deaths of Maj. Yuval Ezra and Capt. (res.) Benayahu Mellet during a July 24 confrontation with Palestinians near Nablus. The probe cited insufficient forces, incomplete understanding, and failures in command and medical evacuation. Four Palestinians were killed. The IDF chief adopted the conclusions and ordered lessons implemented.

An IDF investigation published Wednesday found that significant operational and command failures contributed to the deaths of Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, and Capt. (res.) Benayahu Mellet, 32, during a confrontation between Palestinians and Israeli hikers in the West Bank on July 24. The probe, presented to Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir, found that soldiers acted courageously but were sent into a rapidly expanding incident with insufficient forces, incomplete understanding, and serious failures in command and medical evacuation. Four Palestinians from the Ramadan family were also killed; the IDF identified them as assailants. The hike had not been coordinated with security forces, though initial information reached the Samaria Brigade hours before. During the confrontation, a Palestinian seized a rifle from a local security team member and opened fire. Ezra was killed fighting the gunman; the source of fire that killed Mellet is undetermined. A particularly serious failure occurred during evacuation: after Ezra was removed, Mellet remained wounded on the ground for several minutes without military presence. Zamir adopted the conclusions and ordered lessons implemented, including ensuring civilian entry into areas requiring security coordination is approved. He praised the soldiers' courage and approved Mellet's posthumous promotion to captain.