Special forces units in the Israel Defense Forces encompass a broad definition of specialist units. Such units are usually a regiment or a battalion in strength.
The 188th "Barak" (Lightning) Armored Brigade is an Israeli armoured brigade, subordinate to Israel's Northern Regional Command. The emblem of the Barak Armored Brigade is a red-bordered rhombus bearing a sword against a blue and white background depicting the Haifa coastline. The brigade has a long history beginning before the foundation of the State of Israel.
The 1st "Golani" Brigade is an Israeli military infantry brigade. It is subordinated to the 36th Division and traditionally associated with the Northern Command. It is one of the five infantry brigades of the regular Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the others being the Paratroopers Brigade, the Nahal Brigade, the Givati Brigade and the Kfir Brigade. Its symbol is a green olive tree against a yellow background, with its soldiers wearing a brown beret. It is one of the most highly decorated infantry units in the IDF. The brigade consists of five battalions, including two which it kept from its inception, one transferred from the Givati Brigade (51st).
The 84th "Givati" Brigade is an Israel Defense Forces infantry brigade formed in 1947.
Shimon Avidan, born Siegbert Koch, was a Palmach soldier and IDF military leader. He was the commander of the Givati Brigade during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
The Negev Brigade, originally the 12th Brigade is an Israeli reserve infantry brigade under the Sinai Division, that originally served in the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.
The 35th Paratroopers Brigade is an Israeli military airborne infantry brigade. It forms a major part of the Israeli Ground Forces' Infantry Corps, and has a history of carrying out special operations from the 1950s onwards. Soldiers of the brigade wear maroon berets with the Infantry Corps pin and russet boots.
The Israeli Combat Engineering Corps is part of the Israel Defense Forces with responsibility for mobility assurance, road breaching, defense and fortifications, counter-mobility of enemy forces, construction and destruction under fire, sabotage, explosives, bomb disposal, counter-weapons of mass destruction (NBC) and special engineering missions.
The 143rd "Fire Fox" Division also known as Gaza Division is a division subordinated to Israeli Southern Command. Its area of operation is the border with the Gaza Strip and surrounding area. The division's commander is Brigadier-General Avi Rosenfeld, who replaced Nimrod Aloni in August 2022.
The 162nd Division "Ha-Plada", also known as the Steel Formation, is a division in the Israel Defense Forces. It is subordinate to Southern Command.
The Israeli 460th Armoured "Bnei Or" Brigade is the training formation subordinate to the 80th Division of the Southern Command located in Shizafon base.
Yitzhak Pundak was an Israeli general, diplomat and politician.
Aluf Eyal Eizenberg is a former general in the Israel Defense Forces; his last position was the head of IDF Home Front Command. He led the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Gaza Division during the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict.
Operation GYS, or Operation Gayis, short for Golani, Yiftach, Sergei (Negev)—the three participating brigades—was an Israeli military and logistical operation conducted during the second truce of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. Its objective was to create a corridor to the Israeli enclave in the northern Negev desert, surrounded by the Egyptian army. When the military operation commenced and failed on July 27, 1948, a more modest operation was attempted on July 31, aimed just to transport goods to the enclave.
The Battles of the Separation Corridor were a series of military engagements between the Israel Defense Forces and the Egyptian army in Operation Yoav, and were the centerpiece of the operation. They took place throughout all of Yoav, in the strip of land between the Israeli-held Negev enclave and the rest of the country. This area is generally called the Separation Strip in Hebrew.
Amir Baram is an Israel Defense Forces major general (Aluf) who currently serves as the Deputy Chief of General Staff. He previously served as the commander of the Northern Command, commander of the IDF Military Colleges, commander of the 91st Division, commander of 98th Paratroopers Division and commander of the Paratroopers Brigade.
Yaron Finkelman is an Israeli major general who commands the Southern Command of the Israel Defense Forces. Previously, he served as the head of the Operations Division at the Operations Directorate, Commander of the Fire Formation, Commander of the Givati Brigade, Commander of the Northern Brigade in the Gaza Strip, Commander of the Half Fire Formation, and Commander of the Paratroopers Reconnaissance Battalion.
Asaf Hamami was an IDF officer with the rank of colonel, serving as the commander of the Southern Brigade in the Gaza Strip. Prior to that, he served as the commander of the Negev Brigade, commander of the Oz Brigade training school, and commander of the Tzabar Battalion.
Yitzhak (Itzik) Cohen is an Israel Defense Force officer with the rank of Brigadier general, currently serving as the commander of the Steel Formation. Previously, he served as the commander of the 80th Division, the Sinai Division, the Givati Brigade, the Judah Formation, the Arava Formation, the Givati Brigade's training base, and the Tzabar Battalion.
Ofer Winter is a retired IDF officer with the rank of Brigadier General, in the reserves since 2024. He served as the commander of 98th Paratroopers Division, the military secretary to the Israeli Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff of the Central Command, the commander of the Givati Brigade, the commander of the Northern Brigade in the Gaza Strip, the commander of the 646 Brigade, the commander of the Duvdevan Unit, and the commander of the Givati Reconnaissance Battalion.
