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)
4 Responses
May they – and all IDF soldiers – go and return l’Shalom.
an Israeli Yid
Hashem please protect these brave soldiers!
כל הכבוד! They should all be proud and safe!
Hopefully these OTD youth will come back on the derech after they’re discharged.