With the first alert from the Home Front Command, announcing the start of Operation ‘Lion’s Roar’, all the fighters of the Givati Brigade were mobilized, positioned themselves in the assembly areas in the north, and began a readiness for operational activity. Indeed, it was not long in coming: two days later, Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles at the Israeli home front, also opening this front to combat.
“We entered first, immediately after Hezbollah’s firing,” describes Major A., commander of the spearhead company in the Shaked Battalion, “Our first target was the village of Khiam in southern Lebanon. We dismantled Hezbollah infrastructure there and cleared the area.”
And this is also the general practice, as he describes: each time they receive a mission in a different area and are assigned to it, with the aim of clearing it of Hezbollah infrastructure and terrorists. The next stop was Al-Khiam. “We knew this was one of the main strongholds of the Radwan unit, and the entire brigade entered in order to dismantle the center of gravity in the area.”
In their operational routine, the activity is characterized by many searches of observation posts that Hezbollah uses, the location and destruction of a lot of weaponry and equipment, and patrols and ambushes deep in the territory. “We locate a lot of Hezbollah military equipment, as well as uniforms and vests, flags, and other insignia,” describes the company commander.
As part of the mission, they also launch direct, face-to-face attacks on the terrorist organization’s forces. This happened on the first day after their entry into the area: “On the morning of the second day, two terrorists fired at us from an observation post. We managed to hit them with a tank shell and eliminate one of them. The next day, while we were searching the area, I identified the other terrorist and we eliminated him.”
He describes the activity in the area as eventful, not simple, and intense. “We knew we were entering the center of gravity of Hezbollah and that hard work lay ahead of us. We came prepared for it, and indeed, we destroyed a lot of observation posts and weaponry and equipment.”
On one occasion, when the fighters went out to destroy a series of observation posts, which serve as infrastructure for Hezbollah, they identified an anti-tank missile launcher aimed at Israeli territory. “Next to it were several Kornet missiles, drones, and other equipment which we collected and gathered,” recalls Major A.
“From there, we proceeded towards the last observation post in the series. ‘We entered and began to search. In one of the rooms we opened, we identified a hidden internal space,’ he recounts, ‘We saw a hand raised, and then another accompanied by calls of surrender. After the first person, on whom we identified a dog tag and understood he was an operative, another one emerged. He too had his hands in the air, surrendering.'”
In the room where they were, the fighters identified weapons and Hezbollah uniforms. “Later, outside, they told us they belonged to the Radwan unit, had been active in it for many years, and carried out operations against Israel. We also understood that they were part of a larger cell, specializing in anti-tank warfare, but all its members were eliminated or captured by the IDF, and they realized their chances of survival if they didn’t surrender were very low.”
Even at these moments, Givati Brigade fighters are destroying terrorism and weaponry and equipment in the Al-Khiam sector. Major A. says that immediately after the incident ended, the fighters debriefed with the commanders in the field. “Each one reviewed the way he acted in his mind, where he could have done something differently or better, and where he made the right decision.”
“After that,” he continues, “we held a discussion circle, and also raised feelings following the event. In the end, it’s the first time the fighters captured terrorists, and specifically such veteran and skilled terrorists, from Hezbollah’s elite unit – it’s a very, very significant event, and the fighters also understood the magnitude of their achievement.”