The sight on Israel's northern border is incredible. An entire region stretching over 135 kilometers has been devastated. In reality, this land is far from deserted, with thousands of soldiers scattered in the hinterlands and in hidden positions. On the other hand, the hunt for Hezbollah terrorists is being led by the elite reconnaissance reserve unit Maglan, as the regular agents have been deeply entrenched in the Khan Younis area in recent weeks.
The soldiers have been here since the second week of the war, having fought in the Gaza enclave following the October 7 terrorist attack. They are expected to stay here for at least a few more months. Many of them are elite soldiers with exceptional skills and instant precision fire capability, and they know it.
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Maglan troops sit on chairs from a kindergarten in Nir Oz
The troops here are confronted with daily attacks by Hezbollah, which were initially primarily directed against them. In recent weeks, the frequency of firings has increased, targeting civilian areas such as houses in villages and abandoned kibbutzim. On the other hand, southern Lebanese villages along the border line were abandoned and turned into real Hezbollah strongholds. In southern Lebanon, residents have largely disappeared, so Hezbollah has taken over most homes and civilian facilities such as clinics and mosques and converted them into open military positions – further evidence of the expected rise in tensions.
So far, Maglan soldiers on the Lebanese border have killed at least 80 Hezbollah terrorists in more than 150 attacks since the war began, an average of more than two per day. “We have killed many more than Hezbollah has officially released, and we estimate the number to be around 140,” says Lt. Col. S. “We have held the area for so long that we have developed a close familiarity with the targets in front of us. “ In some Maglan operations they reached ranges of 12 and even 18 km from the border.
Equipped with precision surface-to-surface missiles, combatants have implemented a method that allows ground forces to communicate with operators of remotely piloted aircraft for integrated ambush or deception operations. These assets, in addition to the experience of the reserve soldiers, led to the rapid elimination of Hezbollah cells. The highlight was a six-second period from identification to the missile's precise hit on Hezbollah terrorists.
In addition to the technical means, the soldiers use a poignant but effective souvenir that they took with them from Kibbutz Nir Oz: small chairs from the kibbutz's kindergarten, which was destroyed during a terrorist infiltration. “At night we found the children's kindergarten and used it to rest between missions, and then when we saw the children's chairs, we used them as more comfortable seats in ambushes because they are low. We are waiting for the moment when everything is over so that we can return these chairs from the Lebanese border to the little ones in Kibbutz Nir Oz,” said G., one of the soldiers.
Some of the troops are themselves residents of the southern communities, like S., who lives on Kibbutz Zikim. During the October 7 terrorist attack, he hid in the bomb shelter, knives in hand, to protect his wife and young daughter, waiting for the right opportunity to leave the kibbutz and join his comrades. Now he is with them on the northern border. “I have been waiting to return to my family, but my wife understands the importance of what I am doing here,” he shared.
The soldiers are now deployed along the entire length of what was once the 91st Galilee Division until October 7, now covering a larger area that straddles the most dangerous border. While residents on the periphery of the Gaza Strip are already being called upon to return home, danger and insecurity remain on the northern border. “Still, it’s not the case that it was here before October 7th,” S. clarified. “Hezbollah already has much less control over firepower and surveillance on the Israeli side, and if we initially paid the price for a lack of operational understanding, we now have the upper hand in most decisive confrontations.”