Reprisal operations The Paratroopers Brigade played a key role in the
Reprisal operations, a series of retaliatory raids into Arab territory in response to
fedayeen attacks on Israel. In 1955, the 890th battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade carried out
Operation Elkayam, successfully attacking Egyptian military positions in the
Khan Yunis area of the Gaza Strip. This was followed up with
Operation Volcano, a successful raid by paratroopers together with
Nahal Brigade and
Golani Brigade infantry against Egyptian military positions on the Egyptian-Israeli border. It was the largest Israeli military undertaking since the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, and
Operation Egged later that year, a raid that destroyed an Egyptian military post in the Sinai. In December 1955, paratroopers augmented by Nahal and
Givati Brigade infantry carried out
Operation Olive Leaves, an attack on Syrian gun emplacements along the border which had been shelling Israel, destroying them. In 1956, a force of paratroopers carried out
Operation Black Arrow, raiding an Egyptian military base in Gaza and ambushing an Egyptian military relief convoy.
Sinai Campaign (1956) The
Suez Crisis began with a drop of an entire paratroop battalion over the eastern approaches to the
Mitla Pass. The remaining members of the brigade force traveled along a 300 km route, 200 km deep within enemy territory, and linked up with the battalion. This break-through took 28 hours, during which the column swept through the deserted Kuntilla and fought two short but fierce battles against Egyptian forces in Thamad and Nakhl. The major paratroop action during the campaign was the battle for Mitla Pass. A paratroop reconnaissance patrol entering the pass found itself trapped by an overwhelming enemy force. The Egyptians enjoyed the topographical advantage, fighting from positions and niches in superior terrain. Outnumbered reinforcements who entered the fray fought desperately to rescue their comrades. After nightfall, the Egyptians were routed, but at the cost of 38 paratroopers dead and over 100 more wounded. Enemy losses were estimated at 260. The paratroopers jumped once again during the Sinai Campaign at
At-Tur, on the south-eastern shore of the
Gulf of Suez. The rest of the brigade proceeded by land to conquer
Ras Sudar and link up with their comrades at At-Tur. They then moved southeastward to
Sharm El Sheikh at the southern tip of the
Sinai Peninsula, which they conquered in a classic
pincer movement in coordination with the 9th brigade which had been moving southwestward. After the war's end, the paratroopers concentrated on reorganization and training with emphasis on helicopter operations. At least 49 Egyptian POWs were executed by the Paratroopers Brigade. The officer Arye Biro ordered the executions, because "We had to move on to Ras Sudar".
Six-Day War (1967) on 7 June 1967 During the
Six-Day War, the paratroopers, whose
ORBAT had now greatly increased in number, fought on all fronts: the
Sinai Peninsula,
Judea,
Samaria and the
Golan Heights. Paratroopers and armor broke through the Rafah positions heavily defended by the Egyptian 7th Division from behind, with the unit suffering heavy losses. Many troops were further killed in action during the evacuation of the wounded. The following day, the unit entered
Gaza. Paratroop forces under the command of Danny Matt, who later attained the rank of Major General, made a helicopter landing at the Um Katef artillery positions in the enemy's rear line. A battalion raced against the 7th IDF Armored Division for the honor of being the first to reach the Suez Canal. Veteran paratrooper Aharon Davidi arrived first at the banks of the Suez. During the Six-Day War, paratroopers reached Sharm El Sheikh and likewise participated in the attack on the Golan. During the recapture of East Jerusalem from
Jordanian annexation, considerable care was taken to protect and avoid damaging the holy places of the three religions. For this, the Paratroopers paid a heavy price in dead and wounded. Sayeret Tzanhanim reconnaissance paratroopers equipped with Jeeps mounting 106mm recoilless rifles waged a campaign of destruction against Egyptian armor formations. During the Battle of Firdan Bridge the paratroopers destroyed dozens of
T-55 tanks right off the freighter in Alexandria harbor.
War of Attrition (1968–1973) After the Six-Day War, paratroopers participated in pursuit and retaliation operations against Egyptian infiltrators and became embroiled in the
War of Attrition on various fronts. On March 21, 1968,
paratroopers and armor raided a headquarters in
Karame, Jordan, killing 250 Jordanian soldiers. On December 12, 1968, a heliborne paratroop force raided
Beirut Airport and destroyed Lebanese aircraft. The raid came in response to repeated terrorist attacks against Israeli aircraft. On December 23, 1969, paratroopers participated in
Operation Rooster 53, airlifting an entire Soviet radar station out of Egypt and transporting it back to Israel. In January 1970, the brigade spearheaded
Operation Rhodes, taking over the Egyptian island of
Shadwan. Three Israeli soldiers were killed in the raid which saw the paratroopers remain on the island for 36 hours before departing with 62 Egyptian POWs and a captured
Decca radar set. On 12 May 1972, a hijacked Sabena airliner landed at Israel's Lod Airport (now
Ben Gurion), after which paratroopers disguised as
El-Al flight technicians assaulted the aircraft and rescued the passengers. On the night of April 9, 1973, during
Operation Spring of Youth, a select force of paratroopers headed by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
Amnon Lipkin-Shahak landed in different sites in and around
Beirut, where according to published foreign reports, they linked up with waiting cars hired by
Mossad agents. According to these sources, the soldiers drove through Beirut without arousing suspicion. They simultaneously attacked the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's headquarters and the residences of three high-ranking
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leaders responsible for the Fatah–Black September
Munich massacre of Israeli athletes in 1972. Surprise was total, and despite fierce resistance in the headquarters, all teams succeeded in carrying out their missions and were extracted by
Israeli Air Force helicopters. Two Israeli soldiers and dozens of PFLP fighters were killed during the fighting.
Yom Kippur War (1973) The
Yom Kippur War saw the paratroopers fighting in some of the most difficult battles of the war. In the Sinai, paratroopers assigned to armored units rescued the beleaguered 'Budapest' outpost and destroyed the Egyptian forces. Paratroopers armed with LAW missiles helped contain an Egyptian armored thrust. Paratroopers of Danny Matt's brigade crossed the canal, as the spearhead of General Sharon's divisions, and established a bridgehead. Others, attempting to break open a route for them, ran up against the massive "
Chinese Farm" fortifications. For three days, paratroopers and armored corps of General Sharon's and General Adan's divisions made repeated attempts until they succeeded in breaking through and rescuing their comrades. During the bitter fighting, IDF soldiers ran over open ground to evacuate fallen comrades, and often fell victim to enemy fire in the process. The battles for the "Chinese Farm" prevented the Egyptians from closing in on the bridgehead and eventually succeeded in opening an access point to it. On the West Bank of the Suez Canal, paratroopers fought in the city of Suez and advanced upon the city of
Ismailia. On the Syrian front, paratroopers captured the peaks of Mt. Hermon in a heliborne operation. Other troops conquered
Quneitra in the Golan Heights and Tel Shams and acted as armored infantry in the thrust into Syrian territory. After the Yom Kippur War the paratroopers and other infantry units were placed under the command of a chief Paratroop and Infantry Officer. During an operation known as Operation Nightgown Sayeret Tzanhanim paratroopers were dropped off at a grassy opening near Kasr al-Hayr on the main Baghdad-Damascus Highway. They headed for a bridge where a brigade of Iraqi
T-62 tanks was about to cross en route to the Golan Heights battlefield. The paratroopers attacked the Iraqi armor from the front causing a bottleneck. The Sayeret Tzanhanim paratroopers also attacked the trapped brigade from the rear with machine gun fire and
RPGs destroying the brigade. The paratroopers then placed explosive charges underneath the bridge full of destroyed Iraqi tanks destroying the bridge. This prevented crucial Iraqi reinforcements from ever reaching the Golan Heights front destroying an Iraqi tank brigade in the process. Operation Nightgown was one of the smallest Israeli special operations ever mounted and also one of the most important. Approximately a dozen paratroopers destroyed the Iraqi tank brigade.
Operation Entebbe (1976) On the morning of July 4, 1976, a
counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission headed by Brig. Gen.
Dan Shomron succeeded in rescuing 102 passengers and crew of a hijacked
Air France aircraft at
Entebbe, Uganda. The Paratroopers force, led by Col.
Matan Vilnai, was tasked with securing the civilian airport field, clearing and securing the runways, protection and fuelling of the Israeli aircraft. The commandos, transported in four
Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport planes, succeeded in landing undetected at Entebbe's airport and taking the hijackers and their Ugandan collaborators by surprise. All seven hijackers and dozens of Ugandan soldiers were killed during the mission. After the raid, the assault team returned to their aircraft and began loading the hostages where they were shot at by Ugandan soldiers. Israeli forces returned fire with their
AK-47s, inflicting casualties on the Ugandans. During this brief but intense firefight, Lt. Col.
Yonatan "Yoni" Netanyahu, the older brother of Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, was shot in the chest and killed during the firefight. He was the only Israeli commando killed in the operation. Three hostages were killed, one was left in Uganda, and approximately 10 were wounded. The 102 rescued hostages were flown to Israel via Nairobi, Kenya, shortly after the raid.
Operation Litani (1978) Paratroopers participated in the
1978 invasion of Lebanon, carried out after the infamous
Coastal Road massacre, which temporarily purged Southern Lebanon of PLO terrorists. After the IDF withdrawal and the return of sporadic attacks, the Paratroopers participated in preventive raids against bases in Lebanon, raids designed to keep the terrorists off balance and "on the run", thereby preventing them from carrying out their operations within Israel.
1982 Lebanon War (1982–1985) The paratroopers were an important component of the
1982 Lebanon War. The war in Lebanon proved the IDF's fighting ability and tested Paratroop combat doctrine, which had been revised as a result of the lessons of the Yom Kippur War, Operation Litani and other operations. Paratroopers fought in every sector of the war against Syrian troops and paratroops, both in built-up and mountainous areas. They operated efficiently and in full coordination with other corps, the Navy and the Air Force. One of the better known operations was the amphibious landing at the mouth of the Awali River, north of
Sidon, from where the paratroopers advanced to the outskirts of Beirut through the mountains. In their advance, they engaged Syrian commando forces.
Second Intifada The paratroopers played a key role in the
Second Intifada. Paratroopers participated in
Operation Defensive Shield, taking part in the
Battle of Jenin and
Battle of Nablus.
2008–2009 Gaza War Paratroopers took part in ground operations in the
2008–2009 Gaza War. The brigade was an important component during the war.
2006 Lebanon War The brigade participated in the
2006 Lebanon War. The paratroopers took part in key engagements. Paratrooper units took part in the
Battle of Maroun al-Ras, the first serious battle of the war, which ended in the IDF capturing most of the town. The paratroopers also participated in the
Battle of Bint Jbeil, the
Battle of Ayta ash-Shab, and
Operation Change of Direction 11.
2014 Gaza War During the
2014 Gaza War, the Paratroopers Brigade participated in ground operations, particularly in the
Khan Yunis area. The brigade was credited with killing 141
Hamas militants and locating four tunnels during the war. Eight paratroopers were killed in the war, including one in a grenade explosion outside of combat.
Israel–Hamas war == Organization and insignia==