close
close
hsuses

The Oketz K-9 Unit: In honor of the dogs killed in combat

Theo

Small white stones against dark, almost black earth and pebbles. The stones have individual names written on them in Hebrew. Hogen: May 24, 2024. Jaber: May 14, 2024. Ivan: April 24, 2024. They were all killed in Operation Iron Swords, the war forced on Israel by the Hamas massacre on October 7.

Since that dark day, hundreds of thousands of Israelis have been sent to fight Hamas in Gaza and other border areas. Among them are members of the elite Oketz (Sting) unit, which uses dogs to fight terrorists, find booby traps and investigate Hamas tunnels.

Dogs have played a key role in this war. They too have suffered heavy losses. By mid-July, 29 dogs had been killed. The remains of nine of these dogs were never returned from Gaza.

A unique bond develops between the dogs and their soldier handlers. Each dog is assigned to a soldier and they train together. The loss of the dog is a difficult loss for both the soldier and the army.

Honoring the fallen dogs of the Israeli Defense Forces

Israel commemorates the fallen dogs at a specially designed cemetery in a military base not far from central Israel. The cemetery is accessible via a winding road that I drive along on July 17. It is late afternoon, just before sunset, when the landscape takes on a kind of golden appearance and the shadows lengthen.

A soldier reflects at the graves of the Oketz dogs during the Israel Defense Forces memorial service. (Source: SETH J. FRANTZMAN)

When I arrive at the cemetery, which has been expanded and renovated, there are few soldiers there. I walk among the small white stones laid out in rows and a large semicircle. They bear the names of about 200 dogs killed since Israel first deployed K-9s in this unit decades ago. The current war has taken the heaviest toll in a short period of time.

Particularly painful is the loss of dogs whose remains were never found. To ease the pain, provide closure and honor the sacrifice, the Army held its first ceremony for the dogs who never came home.

A major in the unit provides some background on today’s difficult commemoration. He describes how the unit was formed in 1974 to confront Palestinian terrorist groups that took hostages. It’s a reminder that the enemy has not changed. “We wanted a unit that could handle situations like this. We formed it for hostage rescues and then added (other) capabilities,” he says.

One of the first dogs Israel lost in the war was killed during a rescue operation in Misgav Am in 1980.

Dogs have unique skills that go beyond what technology can offer. For example, they can detect explosives. This helps save the lives of soldiers in areas like Gaza, where the enemy has improvised buildings with explosive devices. The unit is now mixed, meaning that female soldiers also work with the dogs. There are also dogs that are trained for search and rescue missions.

For the soldiers here, working with the dogs begins after a complex selection process to join this elite unit. The fighters undergo physical tests and then a course lasting several months, similar to that of the paratroopers and commandos. Only then do they spend eight months with their dog to build a bond.

This begins with friendship and the building of relationships between man and animal. The dog becomes the soldier’s best friend, even more so than the cliché suggests.

In many cases, the Oketz fighters are sent to work with other elite units such as Shayetet or Sayeret Matkal, or to a base with infantry such as Golani. A soldier and his dog may be the only Oketz members sent to these units and assist them in operations. So the soldier does not necessarily have human friends in the unit he is sent with, but he does have his canine companion.

“There are two situations: either they train with the dog or they fight. We have no time to rest. Every minute the dogs spend in Gaza, they get tired and then return to training. Every dog ​​that is not in Gaza means another soldier could be killed,” says the major, whose name cannot be used for security reasons.

He gives an example of how important this work is: His company within the unit found 262 explosive devices (IEDs, improvised explosive devices), mines and anti-personnel mines. “Each of these mines could cost the lives of four soldiers.”

THE MAJOR has been in his position for a year and a half. “I fell in love with the unit and the goal of saving lives. In terms of the bond between dog and handler, you don’t see a unit like this anywhere else,” he says.

He also describes the difficult situations these fighters find themselves in. They have to send the dogs into dangerous situations. “Some people may think we don’t care if they get hurt, but the trainers here have been training the dogs since they were a year old. Training a dog to our standard takes a long time. If a dog is killed, it is a great loss for the unit and the trainers.”

The major, like many others in Israel, has been fighting since October 7. That morning, just after 6:30 a.m., he received a call from the Israeli base Nahal Oz, a base on the Gaza border near the kibbutz of the same name. He heard that the base was under heavy attack, would be overrun within an hour, and that many of the soldiers there – including numerous female Israeli army guards – would be massacred and some kidnapped. He did not know this at the time, but sensing the dire situation, he drove south toward the base.

There was an Oketz member there who wanted to help. However, the major soon received a call to go directly to the unit. The scale of the attack required more men. The major eventually led the second group of Oketz fighters sent south. He arrived with 22 soldiers, and they helped fight in Nahal Oz and along the border to stem the tide of the Hamas invasion. Dogs and handlers were sent out with various task forces such as Givati, Shayetet and Maglan.

They fought for days and saved numerous lives. One soldier from the unit, 27-year-old Maj. Aryeh Ziering, was killed on the first day of the war.

The unit then fought in the ground operation that began on October 7. As Israeli forces discovered the depth and length of Hamas’ underground tunnel empire in Gaza, stretching for hundreds of kilometers, the dogs played a key role in the fighting in places like Jabalya, Shejaia and Khan Yunis.

In one case, a dog named Max was sent into a house and smelled an explosive device. “All the walls exploded. Parts of the house fell on some soldiers. I saw the dog handler and pulled him out,” the major recalls. The dog handler immediately asked where Max was. The major tried to find the dog, but he had disappeared.

“We started rescuing soldiers when there was another bomb.” The soldier had lost his best friend in the explosions. As the major explains: “The soldier knows he is alive because the dog is there. Afterwards, the soldiers hugged us.”

Soldiers who return without their dogs suffer in many ways. Some of them are also wounded and have to undergo months of rehabilitation. Sometimes they get a new dog, but often they don’t. They have trained with their best friend for so long that this process is not easily repeated.

EVERY YEAR, a ceremony is held in Oketz for the dogs that have fallen that year. Soldiers who have lost their dogs are given the honor of burying them. On July 17, there were two ceremonies. One was for Staff Sergeant David Sasson, a member of Oketz who was killed in southern Gaza in March. His dog, Sitka, was also killed. Although Sasson was buried months ago, on the day I am there, members of his family have come to bury his dog.

This year was the first year that Oketz held a ceremony for the dogs that did not return and were lost in the war. As I wait and talk to the major about the dogs, training and the war, an area overlooking the cemetery fills with soldiers.

During the ceremony, soldiers reflect on the difficulty of burying the dogs left behind in Gaza. They talk about their four-legged friends defending Israel and the close bond they feel.

Several soldiers talk about Sitka, the dog killed in Khan Yunis. “He always had energy and loved people,” recalls one fighter. “He was a good dog and more than that, he had a good soul, and I will not forget him.”

They remember other dogs killed in action and lost in Gaza: Gandhi, Edi, Rico, Charlie, Toy, Juki. One dog was killed in an eight-story building; now his handler has come to close the circle.

Sobbing, he talks about the pride he felt for the dog. “With all that we’ve done together, I knew you were a hero and we’ve been waiting for this moment… I’m proud of you.”

Another dog was lost in Khan Yunis. The unit was attacked by anti-tank missiles and had to leave the area with its Namer armoured personnel carrier.

The sun begins to set. In the cemetery there is a small statue depicting a dog handler and a dog. As the sun sets, the color of the statue changes from white to orange in the glow of the last rays of sunlight.

This is a heartfelt ceremony full of sadness. It ends with more words from the soldiers and officers about the special bond between the dogs and their handlers and the sadness of leaving nine of them behind in Gaza. Then the ceremony is over. Sitka was buried and a wreath was laid, along with a photo of the dog and his handler.

Soldiers walk between the gravestones and talk about the dogs and the names engraved on their gravestones. It has become dark.

In the distance, I can hear the barking of dogs training with the new generation of handlers. On the way back along the winding road, I see the trainers walking with their dogs on the road, barely visible in the fading light, continuing to get used to each other as darkness falls. 



Related Posts