Yonatan Steinberg (; 1980 – 7 October 2023) was an officer in the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

(IDF) with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, who served as the commander of the 933rd "Nahal" Brigade. He had previously served as the commander of the Center for Tactical Training in the IDF, the commander of the , the Assistant Brigade Commander (Operations) of the

Steel Formation The Israel Defense Forces 162nd Armor Division, also known as the Steel Formation ( he, עֻצְבַּת הַפְּלָדָה, ''Utzbat HaPlada''), is a regular-service armor division in the IDF. It is subordinate to the Southern Regional Comm ...

, and the commander of Battalion 931. He was killed by

Hamas Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Bri ...

fighters in a surprise attack on Israel in October 2023.

Biography

Steinberg studied at Jerusalem's high school and yeshiva in Tel Aviv. He enlisted in the

(IDF) in August 2000 and was assigned to Battalion 931 in the

Nahal Brigade The 933rd "Nahal" Brigade is one of the Israel Defense Forces main infantry brigades. From August 2019 to June 2021, the brigade was led by . On June 28, was appointed as the new commander. However, three days later, on July 1, Asman suddenly ...

. After completing basic training, he served as a combat soldier in the battalion. He underwent the IDF's Combat Intelligence Collection Corps course and the IDF's Officer Candidate School. Upon completing the courses, he returned to Battalion 931, where he was appointed a platoon commander and participated in combat operations against Palestinian militants during the

Second Intifada The Second Intifada ( ar, الانتفاضة الثانية, ; he, האינתיפאדה השנייה, ), also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada ( ar, انتفاضة الأقصى, label=none, '), was a major Palestinian uprising against Israel. ...

. Later, he served as a company commander in Battalion 931. Between 2011 and 2012, he served as the deputy commander of Battalion 931. Following that, he served as the Assistant Brigade Commander (Operations) of the Nahal Brigade between 2012 and 2013. Subsequently, he was appointed the Chief of Staff's Military Secretary, serving in this role between 2013 and 2015. In 2016, he served as

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in Battalion 931 In 2019, he was appointed commander of the of the IDF, reaching the rank of

. In 2022, he was made chief leader for tactical operations and held this position until 2023. He was made commander of the 933rd Brigade in May. On 7 October 2023, Steinberg was killed in action in an exchange of fire with Palestinian militants during the Hamas-led attack on Israel. He was one of the most senior IDF officers to be killed in action for some time. His army-issued weapon was found by Israeli commandos in the Hamad City neighbourhood of

Khan Yunis Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: ''Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142,6 ...

, along with personal effects of Israeli abductees, in March 2024.

Personal life

Steinberg lived in

Shomria Shomria ( he, שׁוֹמְרִיָּה) is a religious kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Lehavim, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In , it had a population of . History Shomria was first established as a Nah ...

, a religious kibbutz in southern Israel with his wife Yiska and six children.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinberg, Yonatan 1980s births 2023 deaths 21st-century Israeli military personnel Deaths by firearm in Israel Israeli colonels Israeli military personnel killed in action Israeli soldiers Israeli military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war Year of birth uncertain