A dog-handling unit was founded in 1939 as part of
Haganah, subsequently becoming part of the IDF after independence in 1948. It was dissolved in 1954. In 1974, a new unit was established by Yossi Labock, who was its first commander. The unit specializes in training and handling dogs for military applications. Originally, Oketz trained dogs to attack kidnappers, but training has since become more specialized, and now each dog is trained in a particular specialty. Attack dogs are trained to operate in both urban and rural areas (they were used extensively in
Lebanon). Some dogs are trained to track and pursue selected targets for manhunts and to detect breaches at the Israeli border. Others are trained to search for guns and munitions, to sniff out hidden explosives, and to find people in collapsed buildings. Oketz operators are often assigned to other units when said units are in need of their specialist skills, for instance, the extraction of terrorists from fortified buildings. Though not affiliated with the IDF
Paratroopers Brigade, Oketz operators wear the same distinctive red berets and the unit's graduation ceremony is held at the Paratroopers headquarters. However, in order to join Oketz, the recruit must choose
the Kfir Infantry Brigade as their preferred choice in the request form and then pass the unit's trials. Another use for dogs were to strap explosives to them, and then blow them up (by remote control) when they reached their target. In
Operation Blue and Brown (Kachol Ve’hum) in Lebanon, 1986 such a dog was used in the failed attempt to assassinate
Ahmed Jibril. The operation, which
Bergman calls "an embarrassing flop", ended with one Israeli killed, and the dog was "frightened by the shooting and ran away". The dog was later recovered by
Hezbollah. The Oketz Unit took part in the response to
7 October 2023 against Hamas militants: "Ran praised one of the dogs for saving lives in the battle." According to
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor in June 2024—after video appeared of a 60-year-old woman in her home in the
Jabalia refugee camp being mauled by dogs—the Israeli military was using dogs systematically to attack Palestinian civilians. In July 2024,
Mohammad Bhar, a 24-year-old Palestinian man with
down syndrome and
autism was mauled by a dog in his family home and left to die by Israeli soldiers. ==Dogs==