On Tuesday of this week, the Friends of the Magellan Unit held an evening in Kiryat Malachi, in order to encourage significant service in the IDF. The evening was dedicated to the memory of the unit's two division officers, Yiftach Yabets and Issachar Natan, who were killed in the war in Gaza. Yabets was killed in the first few hours, when he broke through to Nahal Oz. Issachar was killed on November 12 in battle in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Magellan Unit and its activity in the Gaza Strip // IDF Spokesperson
Yavets and Natan are two of eight regular unit commanders and fighters killed in the war. Eight other fighters were killed in Magellan's reserve unit and its parent division (98), and four in other units and security forces. A total of 20 fighters (and many more wounded), a huge number for such a close-knit and family-oriented unit.
Let it be clear who won
In normal times, the entire unit would show up for the event, from the commander to the last fighter. But the days are not normal, and Magellan is deep in the fighting and far from home. For more than a month now, it has been in Khan Yunis, at the tip of the IDF's arrow, as close as possible to the enemy's core and the gold mine the IDF is looking for: the Hamas leadership, and the abductees.
Maglan Khan Yunis unit. From right to left: Capt. Y, Maj. G, Maj. A, Photo: Oren Cohen
Getting to Magellan in Khan Yunis was not easy. It took quite a few days and coordination to arrange this, both because of logistical issues and because of the excessive proximity to the enemy. When it was finally possible, Magellan was above the ruins of the house of Muhammad Sinwar, the brother of Muhammad Sinwar and himself the commander of the sector, a few hundred meters from the Khan Yunis refugee camp.
When we asked her commander, Lt. Col. A., what the target was, he replied without hesitation: "Let such a thing not happen again, and let it be clear who won."
Maglan Khan Yunis unit. From right to left: Capt. Y, Maj. G, Maj. A, Photo: Oren Cohen
A. doesn't like to be made into a story, but he is. He came from a family rooted in the Upper Galilee, which lost one of its sons in the security zone. In his previous position, he was the commander of the 202nd Paratroopers Battalion, and for the past year and a half he has been commanding Magellan. On October 7, he arrived from home, in the community where he lives in the Galilee, leaving behind his wife, Yehudit, and his four children – Neva, Nitzan, Bania and Carmel.
When we asked who was taking care of them, he said his parents. When we left, I sent them a video of him giving his regards. The excitement was obviously great: they hadn't heard from him in a month.
I don't like it when a story is made out of it. Sal A, Maglan Unit Commander, Photo: Oren Cohen
This is the second time we have spoken in a war. The last time was after Black Sabbath, when Magellan lost six fighters, three in Nahal Oz (including the unit's deputy commander, Major Chen Buchris) and three others in battles in the area.
The unit continued to fight for another three days, until the envelope was finally cleared of terrorists. Then it moved to the north, before returning south, joining the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip – mainly in the Shati refugee camp – for a brief refreshment, and returning to lead the attack on Khan Yunis.
Noise of war
Khan Yunis looks different from Rafah. Construction is lower, and buildings are less crowded. Only the destruction looks the same: almost every building was damaged, partially or completely. Anyone who claims that the IDF uses less force in it doesn't know what he's talking about.
The first thing that stands out here is the noise of war. Magellan Unit in Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip,
"There's not a morning I start without an opening flyover," says A. "There was no way I needed fire and I didn't get one." We asked for an example. "A few days ago I sent a team commander with 20 fighters out for action. It was a half-moon night, and he wandered around between locators, wrapped in an air force, tank, engineering escort and besieged artillery in case it was needed. I was a company commander here in Operation Protective Edge; We didn't have power even close to that."
The first thing that stands out here is the noise of war. There is not a moment without the firing of some kind of vehicle, with a drone constantly buzzing above us. Some of the firing is by the IDF: for deterrence, for disruption, for deception, for opening a route. The terrorists' part: As we sat down to talk in one of the houses, we suddenly heard a call over the radio about a sniper firing from one of the nearby buildings. The entire unit tensed until the threat was removed by tank fire accompanied by precision fire.
Deterrence, disruption, deception, opening of axis. Magellan Unit in Khan Yunis, photo: Oren Cohen
"It's classic Hamas," says A. "He fires several bullets in the air and immediately runs away. We surprised them with the way we got here, and the speed with which we arrived."
Their first week here was very intense in terms of fighting. "We had a whole system in front of us that fought, including ambushes, anti-tank missiles, snipers and terrorists coming out of houses and tunnels," says A. As Magellan advanced, the enemy retreated and disappeared, especially into the underground space that is also present here in enormous proportions.
Very intense. Magellan Warriors in Khan Yunis,
On all sides there are tunnel shafts, some of which have already been treated and others are waiting to be destroyed. This is Sisyphean activity, which relies mostly on intelligence and partly on locating on the ground. A. estimates that it will take at least a few more weeks before this setup is decided.
The IDF operates differently in Khan Yunis than it did in Gaza. Not systematic action on the entire area, but activity in a targeted area. This allows Magellan to extract its advantages, especially fire and intelligence from its own sources, including at long ranges.
High survivability in the field. Magellan fighters in Khan Yunis, photo: Oren Cohen
Its training as a unit for deep operations also gives it a high survivability in the field: from camouflage to medicine and logistics. Since the first days at Hen Yunis were relatively tough and reaching deep into the area was problematic due to the many threats, the unit received supplies from the air: parachutes with GPS that brought the fighters water and food.
"The abductees are a compass for us"
A. rejects claims that the operation is proceeding too slowly. He says that's the nature of the territory and the enemy, which has been conducted for years with the infrastructure suitable for this scenario. "It takes time. If you want achievements, you need patience." We asked what achievements he was referring to, and A. replied that "this is the battle that is supposed to harm an entire Hamas brigade and a number of other moral and significant things" – a reference to the leadership and the abductees. "The abductees are a compass for us," he clarified.
They don't lack anything. Magellan fighter in Gaza, photo: Oren Cohen
We asked about the lessons learned from the tragic incident in Sejaiya, in which the IDF accidentally killed three abductees. "Every fighter today waits, checks, asks, before shooting, while of course maintaining a secure area so as not to get hurt. A few days ago we saw a shirtless man walking towards us, waving a white cloth. We took care of everything until he reached us, and it turned out that he was connected to Hamas. We transferred him for interrogation."
We enter one of the buildings from which the unit operates. In the yard of the house there is a wheelchair. The guys joke that Mohammed Deif was here. Despite the intensity and noise outside, it's hard not to admire the calmness that the unit conveys. Part of this stems from the nature of the unit: Magellan is a tough unit, with a rich operational record compared to any other unit in the IDF even before the current war.
They didn't come to write on the walls. Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, photo: Oren Cohen
The campaign in Gaza intensified this, with all the fighters in a continuum of fighting during which they gained enormous combat experience and lost commanders and friends. "Think about what they went through: On October 7, they fired missiles at houses with the Cohen or Levy family written on their doors, and now they're looking here for abductees in the tunnels," says A.
Another part stems from the character of the people: Magellan gets the best after an arduous journey of sorting, with the unitary track making them even better. It is a combination of high quality with impressive professionalism that produces excellent results, which is evident not only on the military side but also in the way they express themselves and the restraint they convey.
"Everything is fine"
A. asks us to meet with the unit's three company commanders. Since this is an elite unit, they are photographed with their faces covered and only the first letter of their first name is allowed in advertising. Captain Y. from Kibbutz Zikim woke up on October 7 to a war over his private home.
Magellan fighter in the Gaza Strip,
"I fought all morning on the kibbutz, over the fences, and then we continued to the Home Front Command training base," he says. "Only at night did I join the unit." His older brother was also a platoon commander in Magellan ("exactly the same company"), and the family is now being evacuated from the kibbutz to the center of the country. When we asked if they would return, answered yes with an exclamation point. "There's no question at all."
Capt. G. comes from Pardes Hanna and currently shares an apartment in Tel Aviv with Capt. Ido Teichman, a company commander in the 13th Battalion in Golani who is now fighting in the refugee camps in the central Gaza Strip. I show him pictures of Teichman, who was interviewed by Israel Hayom last week with the other company commanders in Battalion 13, and he wants to tell me that he is okay, after being wounded by shrapnel from a grenade, went out for treatment and returned to fight with the unit.
Different construction in Khan Yunis,
Major A. comes from Reut. We asked him and his friends about the price the unit paid, especially at the beginning of the campaign. "It's hard to start a war with so many casualties. There isn't anyone here who hasn't had someone close to him, a friend or a commander killed, but that's also what made it clear to everyone here the importance of the war," Y. says.
A. says Magellan is strong. "It taught us that no one can beat us. We have trained and prepared for this war, and we will win it. There is a strong spirit among the fighters, especially when we know what support we receive from the home front, and especially from our bereaved families. It's important to us that they know we're here for them."
The way is to move on. Magellan fighter in action in the southern Gaza Strip, photo: Oren Cohen
G. says that commanders talk a lot with the fighters about casualties. "It's clear to them that the way is to move on, which is also what the fallen would like us to do." The mission is also clear to them: "To ensure that there will be quiet in the envelope for many years, that the kibbutzim will be able to return home, that Hamas will not be able to recover from the campaign."
We asked them about the enemy. "Hamas is afraid of us. At first there were encounters, but now he mostly runs away. We kill quite a bit," G. says. We also asked them about the claims that there was not enough fire assistance, and they vehemently rejected them. "The cooperation here is amazing," says A. "The air force, armor, engineering, artillery – it's a crazy feeling to go on the offensive with all this. We really have everything here."
Everyone understands the importance of war. Magellan warrior in the Gaza Strip,
We asked about the fatigue, and homesickness. Nevertheless, they have been fighting on the ground for more than a month. "We're not tired at all. Every day we launch more attacks and raids. Talk to each of the fighters here, and the only thing you'll hear is that they just want to keep going," G. says.
We asked what they do during the breaks, after all, they don't fight all the time. We received surprising answers. Food, for example, is not a major topic of conversation here. In the entrance to the house there is a patterned stove on which coffee is made, and next to it there is also a pan that indicates that someone fried something on it not long ago, but most of the time they eat battle dishes, making it clear that they are not missing anything.
Amazing collaboration. Magellan's activity in Khan Yunis, photo: Oren Cohen
When we wondered if the hot meals didn't come here as it was in Gaza City. They replied that in Khan Yunis it's more complicated because of logistics, "but everything is fine" and the supplies arrive more or less regularly, that is, once every two or three days.
"We didn't come to write on the walls - we came to fight"
So what are they talking about anyway? About home, about friendship, about what they will do after the war, and also about football. Y. is a diehard fan of Hapoel Tel Aviv, and says he knows me from the stands. When I asked him about graffiti left by quite a few fighters with slogans of football teams (and a million and one other graffiti), he replied that it was not his style or that of the unit. "We didn't come here to write on the walls. We came to fight, and to come home after we win."
The goal is that Hamas will not be able to recover from the campaign. Magellan warrior in the Gaza Strip,
Alongside the company commanders on a permanent basis, we meet two reserve officers who fight with the unit. Captain R. is the unit's intelligence officer, who left a girl and a woman eight months pregnant at home in Ashkelon and went to fight in the village of Gaza, and from there continued continuously. "In all my 8 years of service, I have never felt such a mission and significance as here, when we maneuver against the enemy and hit him."
He says that the unit manages to utilize its advantages and capabilities, especially with a combination of intelligence and fire. Create targets, and close circles to hit them. "We have a good familiarity with the enemy, and I feel that we are in control."
The destruction in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, photo: Oren Cohen
Capt. A. Meher Adar is Magellan's Divisional Officer, the third to hold this position since the beginning of the war. After his release, he worked for a year at a high-tech company in the United States, and then fulfilled a dream he and his father shared – to climb the summit of Kilimanjaro.
They completed the journey on October 7, and then, in a single moment of cellular reception, realized that the inferno had broken out in Israel, and began a frantic run down the mountain – "a journey of two days in zero time" – which continued with a flight to Addis Ababa, "beating to get on a flight to Israel", landing and reporting to the unit on Monday – straight to the fighting.
The unit paid a high price. Khan Yunis,
He says that Yiftach Yavets, the division officer who was killed on the first day of the war, was a soldier on his team. In his memory, he attached to the uniform the badge that Javits's own team had made after his death, which contained one of the sentences he said to his warriors: "Every man has alternating friends, we have each other forever." We are fighting for his memory and in his image, Team Yavets."
A. was supposed to begin studying industrial engineering and management at Tel Aviv University. We asked him what would happen next to his studies, when he was deep in Khan Yunis. "They'll wait," he replied. "There are more important things in life." He asks us to send our regards to Yavets' family, and especially to convey at home that matters are under control. That they are strong, and winning.
"There are snipers outside, be careful." Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip,
When we leave the house, the armored vehicles that bring us back to Israel arrive, a few geese run around outside. Oren, the photographer, asks to go out and photograph them, and is immediately warned that "there are snipers outside, be careful."
Before we say goodbye, we suddenly notice something unusual: during the hours we were here, I didn't see anyone smoking. We asked the unit commander if it was coincidental, and he said no. That's how it is in Magellan.
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