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31-680: The brigade headquarters are at Ketziot. The Paran Brigade incorporates and consolidates in a single formation the mixed (male and female) Caracal , the Lions of Jordan , the Cheetah , and Bardalas battalions, already serving within the 80th Division . The Paran Brigade is unique to the rest of the IDF divisions as a regional and regular brigade. The mission of the Paran Brigade is twofold: border surveillance and defense, and internal training of

62-790: A Druze officer was tried for killing Iman al-Hams , a 13-year-old Palestinian girl, in Rafah in October 2004. Captain "R" was acquitted of all charges by a military court. Another officer, Captain "N", was removed after Palestinian gunmen infiltrated the Morag settlement and killed three soldiers in September 2004. On September 12, the Givati Brigade left the Gaza Strip as part of Israel's unilateral disengagement plan , one month after

93-522: A recommendation of honor , mainly for their activities against Rafah 's tunnels. Givati forces, combined with a special combat engineering tunnels unit, and IDF Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers , managed to suppress most of Rafah's tunnels. On May 11 and May 12, 2004, two armored personnel carriers of Givati's Dolev engineering battalion were destroyed by Palestinian militants. The two separate skirmishes, in Gaza City 's Zeitoun neighbourhood and

124-534: A jeep of the battalion was attacked by militants from the Egyptian border with gunfire and an anti-tank missile. Two soldiers were injured. One of the injured, a female officer, Captain Or Ben-Yehuda, nonetheless dismounted from the jeep and returned fire killing one militant in the fire-fight. In November 2017, Caracal officially became part of the border array (alongside the 'Lions of Jordan Battalion' and

155-539: A pilgrimage (two soldiers were detained by police), beating Israeli human rights activists in Hebron (two soldiers were suspended), and assaulting a Palestinian man (three soldiers were suspended). While IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi contended that "Incidents such as these tarnish the unit in which the soldier serves, the IDF and the State of Israel," Israeli MK and national security minister-designate Itamar Ben-Gvir urged

186-487: A unit in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . Givati was formed in December 1947 and placed under the command of Shimon Avidan . At the start of the 1948 Palestine war , the brigade was charged with operations in the central region of Israel, participating in operations Hametz , Barak and Pleshet . During Operation Barak, the brigade perpetrated a massacre in the village of Abu Shusha , killing around 60 residents. As

217-563: Is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade formed in 1947. During the 1948 war , it was involved in capturing Palestinian villages in operations Hametz , Barak , and Pleshet . Before Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza , the Brigade was stationed within the Gaza Strip . Givati soldiers are designated by purple berets. The Brigade's symbol is the fox, alluding to Shualei Shimshon (שועלי שמשון, lit. " Samson 's Foxes"),

248-562: Is an infantry combat battalion of the Israel Defense Forces , one of the three fully combat units (alongside the ' Lions of Jordan Battalion ' and the ' Cheetah Battalion ') in the Israeli military's Paran Brigade that are composed of both male and female soldiers. It is named after the caracal , a small cat whose sexes appear the same. As of 2009 , approximately 70% of the battalion was female. The Caracal Battalion

279-476: Is unique among the border patrol battalions as apart from its infantry units, it includes a tank unit made from female soldiers entirely. The squad (called Pere Squad) was formed after a multiple year long pilot which tested the ability to involve women in the Armored Corps . Prior to Caracal's formation in 2000, women were barred from serving in direct combat. The unit has since been tasked with patrolling

310-571: The Al-Aqsa Intifada , when under the command of Imad Fares . Under Fares' command, Givati carried out thousands of operations in the Gaza Strip. The brigade continued its operations in the Gaza Strip under the command of Eyal Eisenberg and the new head of Southern Command, Dan Harel . Givati's Recon Battalion, the Dolev combat engineering platoon and the Bedouin scouts battalion, won

341-603: The Givati Brigade training base. Second Lieutenant Noy, who is serving in the Caracal Battalion, was the first female officer to command a sniper platoon. Elinor Joseph , who has also served with the Caracal Battalion, is the first Arab woman ever to serve in a combat role in the Israeli Army. Captain Or Ben-Yehuda was awarded a citation while serving in the Caracal Battalion. Ben-Yehuda

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372-807: The Philadelphi Route near Rafah and the Egyptian border, claimed the lives of 11 soldiers. Islamic Jihad militants captured some of the remains, causing outrage in Israel. Following international pressure and further Israeli operations in Zeitoun, the bodies of soldiers were returned to Israel. In the Zeitoun incident, UNRWA ambulances were used as transport by healthy Palestinian militants. In an interview with Haaretz , Israel's Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz also said that UNRWA's ambulances were used by Palestinian militants in order to bring some of

403-555: The 'Cheetah Battalion') and replaced the green beret with a light yellow and brown camouflage. While Caracal is a mixed gender battalion, it has been 70% female since 2009. Previously a part of the 512th Sagi Brigade of the Southern Command , the battalion currently operates under the command of the Paran Brigade after a reconfiguation of the southern Sagi Brigade. At Sufa and Holit the Caracal Battalion, under

434-563: The Gaza City Brigade after its forces fought against Givati. In November 2012, the Givati Brigade participated in Operation Pillar of Defense . In the summer of 2014, the Givati Brigade participated in the Israeli offensive Operation Protective Edge . During a 72-hour ceasefire, elements of the brigade's reconnaissance company engaged in a brief skirmish with Hamas militants in the southern Gazan city of Rafah , near

465-482: The IDF initiated the Hannibal Directive and carried out a relentless air and ground attack on residential areas of Rafah . In the summer of 2015, a United Nations independent commission inquiry, as well as a joint report by Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture , found that Israel's indiscriminate violence against all human life on Black Friday amounted to war crimes. The reports detail

496-488: The Israeli-Egyptian border. It took part in Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2005. The Caracal Battalion engaged in combat on September 21, 2012 on the Egyptian border, following the infiltration of a group of terrorists. Responding to a radio report of the attack, a female Caracal infantry soldier killed a terrorist wearing a suicide belt in a fire-fight. In October 2014,

527-563: The border with Egypt. Three soldiers, including the commander, Benaya Sarel, of the Givati Reconnaissance Company ( Sayeret Givati), were killed in the ensuing firefight subsequently dubbed "Black Friday." Lieutenant Hadar Goldin was captured by Hamas militants and taken into a tunnel, and the assistant company commander took a small group of soldiers with him into the tunnel in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to rescue Goldin. After learning of Goldin's capture,

558-549: The command of Lt. Col. Or Ben-Yehuda, claimed to have eliminated nearly 100 Hamas terrorists during the 2023 Hamas invasion of southern Israel . The Battalion suffered minimal casualties and no deaths. Members of the Caracal Battalion were formerly issued the Israeli-made Tavor assault rifle . but are now issued M4 carbines or M16 rifles . Battalion members partake in a four-month basic training period that includes physical training and weapons training at

589-674: The continuous rockets being fired into the Israeli town outside of Gaza and to pressure Hamas to release Shalit. Givati, together with the Golani Brigade, Engineering Corps and the Armored Corps, participated in Operation "Summer Rains." However, Israel failed to achieve the release of Shalit, and a November 26 ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian groups forced Israel to withdraw its forces. Captain "R",

620-464: The forceful removal of approximately 8,000 Jewish settlers living in 22 communities in the Strip. It marked an end to the 38 year IDF presence in the Gaza Strip. Today, two battalions are stationed outside the Strip, while the third battalion is positioned on the northern border. On June 27, in response to Hamas' kidnapping of Corporal Gilad Shalit , the IDF started an offensive in the Gaza Strip to repel

651-798: The former Misayat Shaked company commander who was accused in "confirming kill" of 13-year-old Iman al-Hams in Rafah in October 2004, and was acquitted in court, received NIS 80,000 in compensation from the state, according to a December 14 Ha'aretz report. Givati was the first brigade to receive the new IMI Tavor TAR-21 assault rifle, in August 2006. As of 2007, the Givati brigade is organized into three main battalions: Shaked, Tzabar, and Rotem, in addition to associated reconnaissance , engineering , and other units. The Givati Brigade participated in Operation Hot Winter . It also participated in

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682-449: The ground phase of Operation Cast Lead , when of all IDF brigades, it penetrated deepest into Gaza City. The brigade's reconnaissance battalion entered the Tel el-Hawa neighborhood in search of Hamas operatives two days before the cease fire went into effect. An estimated 40 Palestinian operatives were killed as dozens of apartments were swept. Hamas reportedly decided to fire the commander of

713-499: The massive Israeli bombardment that killed between 135 and 200 Palestinian civilians, including 75 children. The IDF Rabbinate later declared the Goldin deceased for the purposes of Jewish burial and grieving rituals and buried the remains. The assistant company commander was later awarded Israel's highest military honor, and the soldiers that accompanied him into the tunnel were also awarded military commendations. The Givati Brigade

744-681: The remains of IDF soldiers killed in Zaitoun neighbourhood in Gaza on May 11, 2004. UNRWA has described the May 11 incident as a hijacking. After two more soldiers were killed in Rafah , Israel launched Operation Rainbow . This involved Givati forces reinforced by Golani Brigade soldiers with IDF Achzarit HAPCs, a battalion of officers from the class-commanders school and several IDF Caterpillar D9 armoured bulldozers . The stated aim of Operation Rainbow

775-472: The time it was intended that the Brigade serve as marines , but this has not been effected. In 1986 the brigade's purple beret was officially approved. Since 1999 it serves under Israel's Southern Command . The Givati Brigade served under the Southern Command and was deployed in the Gaza Strip. The brigade was awarded a medal of honor for its service in the Gaza Strip during the last two years of

806-602: The troops assigned. The protection of the Israeli-Egyptian border is from Eliat to Holot Halutza with Egypt ’s Sinai , and, according to Andrea Spada, particularly the area extending from the Nitsana border. The soldiers in the brigade will have the speckled, yellow, green and brown berets of the Border Defense Force and wear red boots and a newly designed tag on their shoulders. Caracal Battalion The 33rd "Caracal" Battalion ( Hebrew : גדוד קרקל )

837-756: The war entered its second stage , Givati became the 5th Brigade , was moved to the south, and concentrated mainly around Gedera , Gan Yavne and Be'er Tuvia . One battalion fought on the Jerusalem front, participating in Operation Nachshon and the Battles of Latrun . When Israel declared independence , Givati consisted of 5 battalions, with notable commanders such as Jehuda Wallach (51st Battalion), Ya'akov Pri (52nd Battalion), Yitzhak Pundak (53rd Battalion), Tzvi Tzur (54th Battalion) and Eitan Livni (55th Battalion). A sixth battalion (the 57th)

868-586: Was founded on May 30, 1948 from Irgun veterans, in preparation for Operation Pleshet . The brigade or parts thereof subsequently participated in the Battle of Nitzanim , Operation An-Far , Operation Yoav , etc. It was converted into a reserve brigade in 1956 and its 51st "HaBokim HaRishonim" infantry battalion transferred to the Golani Brigade . Givati was reestablished as a mechanized infantry brigade and then proceeded on to amphibious warfare in 1983. At

899-588: Was in charge of the Caracal Battalion, which was stationed near the Israeli-Egyptian border. Nearly two dozen armed men opened fire on their position in an ambush attack on October 22, 2014. Although wounded in the volley of gunfire, Ben-Yehuda managed to get on the radio and call for backup, administer first aid to her driver and return several magazines worth of gunfire back at her attackers while waiting for reinforcements. Givati Brigade The 84th "Givati" Brigade ( Hebrew : חֲטִיבַת גִּבְעָתִי , lit.   '"Hill Brigade" or "Highland Brigade"')

930-648: Was the most highly decorated brigade in the IDF in 2014. In January 2015, a convoy belonging to the Tsabar Battalion of the Givati Brigade was attacked by Hezbollah in Shebaa Farms . In November 2022, the Givati Brigade was involved in "a series of incidents" of alleged abuses towards civilians in Jerusalem and the West Bank. Within the space of a few weeks, Givati Brigade soldiers were accused of spitting at an Armenian Christian archbishop leading

961-416: Was to destroy the terror infrastructure of Rafah, destroy smuggling tunnels and stop illegal missile shipment. The brigade's Shaked battalion, under the command of a Lt. Col. "Ofer" (surname not publicized) was rocked by scandals in the second half of 2004 while stationed in the southern Gaza Strip. Two of the battalion's four company commanders were removed, although one was later exonerated. Captain "R",

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