Shahaf Battalion conducts ambushes from Mount Dov to Rosh Hanikra and provides intelligence information straight from Hezbollah • "Adapting ourselves to the ground" • Accompanied by an ambush on the Lebanese border
The fighters entered the bushes quietly, well trained, assimilating themselves into the environment, well aware that in front of them, in a particularly short period of time, Hezbollah terrorists may be on their way to attacking Israeli territory. The many exercises they performed led them to unprecedented professionalism. Carrying weapons in their hands and on their backs special sophisticated tracking equipment, in the first line.
The thwarting of the infiltration of the terrorist cell today (Monday) was not accidental, and it was not a battle that was all about firing machine guns, shells and artillery, but at one of the best observation capabilities in the world spread over Mount Dov. Observers who are well acquainted with the sector and fighters of the Seagull Battalion (869) who regularly ambush the area, provide quality information on Hezbollah operations and regularly thwart enemy intelligence gathering attempts, which were inevitably used by the terrorists in today's attack in the area. These are also the soldiers who are assimilated into the field and know how to thwart the attack in Ivo.
"They use many tools, both in the mobile world and in the stationary world, including skimmers, they know how to combine weapons to locate the enemy, in the short and long ranges - we catch them in the places that are most convenient for them," the battalion's AJM officer, Rabbi Captain Ophir Abram.
Recently, "Israel Hayom" photographer Oren Cohen closely documented the activities of the Seagull Battalion and through the camera viewfinder photographed the accessories that are allowed to be exposed. The fighters, operating in the Lebanese area, are thwarting terrorist attacks in the 91st Spatial Division sector, the most tense sector in Israel, from Mount Dov to Rosh Hanikra. While immersing themselves in the bushes in the area of Nahal Betzet, examining the enemy by special means, they proved that this is one of the most important units in the IDF today, those that stopped the attack even before it took place, whether with weapons or advanced means of observation.
"We know how to bring intelligence to places where the enemy would not believe we would reach. This is a force multiplier in the 91st Division, in front of which there is a very sophisticated enemy. One of our specialties is camouflage - we know how to adapt to ground using custom clothing and very advanced equipment. Without him seeing us. They are in their comfort zone and we receive the critical information, "explains Major Abram." Our fighter knows how to sit or lie in a camouflage position for several days and bring the information to the IDF. "
"Our toolbox is very wide," he explains. "There is a tendency to think that we are only carrying out pick-ups, but our fighters also have very broad professional capabilities in the areas of implementing accessories and interception operations. There are many things that Israeli citizens would be very surprised to find that we carry out."
The battalion's fighters, who were formerly in the field intelligence corps, are known to carry a lot of equipment on their backs on the way to an ambush, sometimes tens of miles away. Although they operate on the borders on a daily basis, they are part of the battalion of fighters that will enter enemy territory in time of war. In order to maintain fitness, the fighters regularly perform fitness training so that they can carry the equipment, as well as perform camouflage training, training in the field of micro-tactics and stealth skills on a regular basis. "
Major Abram, who served until a year ago in the Gaza Strip, says the nature of the activity in the north is a completely different world, and much more challenging. As we saw today (Monday) at an event in Mount Dov, any event in the northern sector could lead to a battle day at best and war in a worse scenario.
"The sector here is very challenging, both because of the enemy that is the most complex that the State of Israel is facing and because of the land. In Gaza you have an ideal solution, among other things, because there are no things that hide the enemy. Here the area is much larger and topographically complex.
"The enemy here is much more managed and orderly. You will not see a situation here where a random person without a clear organizational affiliation places a charge, like in Gaza. Hezbollah works in an established manner, does not place a charge and hopes to get on it. The explosiveness here is much greater, If an event occurs that deviates from the norm, the chances of a battle day are much higher. "
