Beni Aharon

Beni Aharon or Benny Aharon (Hebrew: בני אהרון) is a colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and previously the commander of Israel's 401st Armored Brigade. He has been considered for the position of IDF chief spokesperson.[1] He was subsequently accused of authorizing the targeting and killing of 5 year old Hind Rajab.

Training Operation: Lebanon

In 2019, Aharon helped oversee training between Israeli armored units and other branches of its military in simulations of an Israeli invasion of a Lebanese village controlled by Hezbollah.[2] Aharon said an important part of training was learning to counter military units who spend most of their time hidden below ground and then appear at the surface only briefly to militarily engage.[2]

Paths of Fire

In a January 2023 interview with Newsweek, Aharon said that Israeli forces had practiced for "a new plan," which entailed Israeli forces entering Gaza itself.[3] Aharon said that in his 20 years of military experience, while Israel frequently used air operations to fight its enemies, a larger operation involving ground forces was needed every 4–5 years.[3] Aharon said that the operation, "Paths of Fire," planned for the use of "the most powerful units in the IDF,"[3] and that while Hamas was likely to surprise Israel in their next conflict, through training, Aharon said "we're going to surprise Hamas."[3]

October 7

"I saw Hamas vans on the way and just ran over them."

Beni Aharon, interview with Ynet, 2023

During the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Aharon commandeered a tank at Nahal Oz and began to fight against Hamas forces.[4] Driving to Re'im, Aharon said, "I saw Hamas vans on the way and just ran over them."[4] Aharon made his way to the site of the Nova music festival massacre, fought until his tank had no more fuel, and then was driven to Be'eri, where he managed to break into the Kibbutz.[4]

Aharon was called to join Israeli forces at Sderot, where Israeli SWAT police besieged a police station controlled by Hamas fighters.[4] Aharon fought at the police station "persistently."[5] Unable to dislodge the fighters, Aharon called a friend who advised "we should aim at the lower part of the building. It worked – and the building was set on fire, suffocating the terrorists."[4] Aharon filmed video footage of the fight at the police station, later released in 2024.[5] Approximately 30 Israeli police and civilians were killed at the police station, and 10 Hamas fighters.[6]

Gaza war

"It's hard to believe that people who lived here didn't see trucks and dozens of people digging… they all knew what was happening.."

Beni Aharon, interview with The Times of Israel in Gaza City, 2023
See also: Gaza war, Gaza genocide, and Use of human shields by Hamas

During the Gaza War, Aharon fought as commander of the 401st armored brigade.[1][7] Giving Israeli media a tour of Gaza Square in the heart of Gaza City in December 2023, Aharon said that what seemed to be civilian buildings and infrastructure were in fact supporting Hamas's military operations: "Regular homes of civilians, that people seemingly live in the day-to-day, but in reality, they are either a hideout apartment for terrorists."[8] Aharon showed media tunnels and said, "It's hard to believe that people who lived here didn't see trucks and dozens of people digging… they all knew what was happening."[8]

In October 2024, Aharon said that his unit discovered a Hamas data center located beneath the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) headquarters in Gaza.[7] That same month, Aharon was named as a likely successor to Meir Biderman as deputy head of the IDF's 162nd Division.[9]

Killing of Hind Rajab

On 3 May 2025, the Hind Rajab Foundation announced that it had identified Lieutenant Colonel Beni Aharon as the commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, which was involved in the killing of five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. On 29 January 2024, Hind and her family were attempting to flee Gaza City when their vehicle came under fire from Israeli tanks in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood. The attack killed six of her family members, leaving Hind trapped in the wreckage. She made a distress call to emergency services, pleading for help. When a Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance was dispatched to rescue her, it was also targeted and destroyed by Israeli forces, killing the two paramedics on board. Subsequent investigations, including one by Forensic Architecture, concluded that the vehicle had been struck by hundreds of bullets at close range and that the ambulance was hit by a tank-fired shell.[10] The foundation filed a war crimes complaint against Aharon with the International Criminal Court, alleging that the actions constituted deliberate targeting of civilians and medical personnel.[11][12]

Successor as spokesperson

In March 2025, Aharon was discussed as a potential successor to the IDF's chief spokesperson Daniel Hagari.[1][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Fabian, Emanuel (7 March 2025). "IDF spokesman Hagari to retire from military, in move widely seen as dismissal". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b TOI Staff (9 June 2019). "Israeli army cadets train for takeover of Hezbollah-held Lebanese village". Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d O'Connor, Tom (21 January 2023). "Israeli Commander Reveals How the Next War Will Be Fought Inside Gaza". Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e Zitun, Yoav (13 October 2023). "Act of bravery amid the horrors of the war against Hamas". Ynet. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  5. ^ a b "IDF releases previously unseen footage of Oct. 7 fighting". Jewish News Syndicate. 7 October 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  6. ^ Margolies, Joanie (8 October 2023). "IDF regains control over Sderot police station". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Inside Hamas' sensitive base under UNRWA HQ in Gaza City". Ynet. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  8. ^ a b Fabian, Emanuel (20 December 2023). "Under the heart of Gaza City, IDF digs up a vast hive of lairs where Hamas's elite hid". The Times Of Israel. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  9. ^ Fabian, Emanuel (20 October 2024). "IDF probe into death of commander finds he was outside tank when hit by explosive device". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 5 May 2025.
  10. ^ "The Killing of Hind Rajab". Forensic Architecture. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  11. ^ "Palestinian girl Hind Rajab killer identified". Middle East Monitor. 5 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Hind Rajab's killer named and reported to ICC on her 7th birthday". The New Arab. 4 May 2025.
  13. ^ "Daniel Hagari to be replaced as IDF spokesman, retire from military, new chief rules". Jerusalem Post. 8 March 2025.
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