The IDF’s Chashmonaim Brigade has begun operating in Gaza for the first time as a battalion-level combat team, the army announced this week.

The deployment marks a milestone for the chareidi unit, which until now had only sent smaller reserve teams into combat zones. The brigade — made up of its first standing army company and its first reserve company — will operate under the IDF’s 98th Division, currently active in Gaza City.

“This is the first time we’ve deployed the Chashmonaim as a complete operational battalion,” said one senior IDF officer. “It reflects their growing role in defending Israel — not just as soldiers, but as a full fighting force within the army.”

With a potential ceasefire looming, the brigade’s current mission may focus less on urban combat and more on securing key corridors — particularly the Philadelphi and Netzarim routes — to prevent weapons smuggling and the infiltration of terrorists into Israel.

Before entering Gaza, the Chashmonaim soldiers gathered for a hachnosas sefer Torah — dancing and singing as they escorted an army-issued sefer Torah into the Strip.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)