"This is the IDF, this is the IDF," in these reassuring calls, the commandos of the IDF canine unit Okez ("Sting") reached the civilians hiding in the communities of the Gaza area and rescued them from the danger during the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre while operating alongside selected reconnaissance units, shoulder to shoulder with the Golani Brigade and Sayeret Matkal.
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The Okez Unit decided to establish three independent combat platoons that would take part in the combat effort in the Gaza area communities. In Kibbutz Be'eri, the commandos eliminated terrorists who had barricaded themselves in homes and on the kibbutz's roads, rescued the hostages, and saved lives under fire.
Video: The IDF Canine unit rescues hostages during the Oct. 7 Hamas attack / Credit: IDF Spokesperson's Unit
In another operation in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, the dog Nero was sent to locate terrorists and means of combat. When an organized group of terrorists lay in ambush for the commandos, Nero exposed their location and attacked them. Following that, the unit's commandos eliminated the group of terrorists. The dog Nero was killed during the confrontation, and after hours of fighting, the Okez commandos and the Navy's Shayetet 13 commando unit extracted his body and brought Nero for burial within the unit.
The commander of the Okez Unit to his fighters told his fighters that "the next stage is to enter the Gaza Strip. The mission is to eliminate all the terrorists we encounter in the area; we are ready, we are strong, we are determined, and we are going to win."
Throughout the battles on Oct. 7, the Okez commandos eliminated more than ten terrorists associated with the Hamas terrorist organization and rescued over 200 civilians alive. Moreover, during the operation, a senior Hamas operative was arrested after the dog Charlie exposed his location in an open area and attacked him.
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