The Dogs of War

The Four Legged Warriors Protecting our Soldiers in Gaza

“The dog is signaling something here! Get back!”

Today I want to talk about the IDF’s K-9 team, “Oketz” (Literally, “Sting”).

Oketz Unit Pin

Since the beginning of our ground operations against Hamas, Oketz dogs and their handlers have been on the ground, helping our forces locate terrorists, weapons, and boobytraps or explosives.

This same refined search and rescue capability also makes them ideal to play a role in the ongoing mission to bring home all of our hostages.

So far, the Oketz unit and their canines have uncovered dozens of booby traps throughout northern Gaza, saving the lives of IDF soldiers. In Rantisi Hospital, for example, a K-9 dog found bombs and a weapons cache.

In this video, you can see the Oketz Unit in action.

Pay attention to how the dog finds the suspicious object under a bed and immediately warns everyone to back away, putting himself between the suspicious item and the soldiers. There’s a reason they call them man’s best friend.

A Dog’s Life…

Because of their unique capabilities, Oketz frequently supports other elite IDF units during operations, including Shayetet 13, Sayeret Matkal, Shaldag and other commando units. The unit has three different types of squads:

• An offensive squad, in which soldiers and canines collaborate to find, identify, and attack terrorists

• Explosive specialists, like in the video above, used to sniff out bombs or other booby traps

• A defensive unit that is mostly tapped to find weapons or to find casualties in mass destruction sites, like in earthquakes or missile strikes. Notably, this unit also has female canine handlers.

Thinking about joining? Well, every year, some 100 new soldiers are drafted to the unit for a 16-month training course. Interestingly, no prior experience with dog handling is necessary.

The Heavy Cost

The outstanding abilities the dogs also has tragic ramificiations.

Operating on the front lines, in dangerous situations and being first in comes at a cost. So far, four IDF dogs have been killed in Gaza during operational activities. The unit has a special graveyard on its base for these courageous dogs.

From left to right: Mido, Tayga, Jack, and Gandhi

They say, ‘all dogs go to heaven’. I don’t know if that’s true, but I hope it is for these four heroes.

Operational Updates

• Last night, another 17 hostages were released from captivity in the Gaza Strip and returned home to Israel, as part of the framework for the operational pause. IDF special forces and Shin Bet forces received the released hostages when crossing into Israeli territory. From there, the released hostages were flown by IAF helicopters on to hospitals where they were reunited with their families.

• The entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip continued on Sunday. In total, over 2,000 trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since the start of the war, transferring water, food and medical equipment to Gaza. Yesterday 200 trucks entered, 42 of which were loaded with shelter equipment. Some 3,600 tons of tents, blankets and mattresses have been transferred for the civilian population ahead of the winter.

Quote of the Day

“4 year old Avigail Idan, orphaned after her parents were murdered by the brutal terror organization Hamas, is a hero and is a living example that the war against Hamas is uniquely justified. This is a war against an evil and cruel enemy, and like Avigail, each and every one of the returned hostages has family or close ones who were murdered or are still being held hostage.”

IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari on the release of hostages from Hamas captivity in Gaza

What I’m Watching

Incredible heroism from the world’s only unit of all-women tank crews. This weekend, all of Israel learned about their 17-hour battle on October 7th. Here’s the full story with English subtitles: