Yiftach Brigade

The 11th Brigade (also known as the Yiftach Brigade) is a reserves unit in the Israel Defense Forces, composed mainly of fighters that completed their compulsory service in the Unit 621 – 'Egoz'.

Emblem of the brigade

History

In the 1948 Arab–Israeli War it was a Palmach infantry brigade. It was formed in late April 1948 from existing Palmach battalions: the First Battalion, that resided in Jezreel Valley and the Third Battalion in the eastern valleys. In late 1948, the Second Palmach Battalion was transferred to it from the Negev Brigade.^[1]

The Palmach memorial website records 274 of its members being killed whilst in the Yiftach Brigade.^{[citation needed]}

In May 1949 the Palmach brigade was disbanded. This was part of a general downsizing of the IDF (9 out of 12 brigades were disbanded). It was also considered by many as part of Ben-Gurion's process of disbanding the Palmach itself.^[2]

A while after that, it was re-established as a reserve unit that served in the Gaza Strip front^[3][4] As an infantry brigade it also fought in the Suez Crisis and in the Six-Day War in the Gaza Strip^[4][3]

In 1971 the brigade was converted to an armored brigade. It fought in the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. After the war it was regrouped and its unit number was changed to 576. in 2006 the brigade fought in Operation Defensive Shield.^[3]

In May 2014 it was disbanded. ^[3]

Reestablishment

In 2016, the decision was made to reestablish the brigade as a reserves elite infantry force by transferring battalions from the 810th “Hermon” Brigade that was disbanded as part of the multi-year Gideon Plan. Nearly all of the soldiers in the brigade served as operators in the elite Egoz unit. In September 2020, the brigade transferred command to the 99th (Reserves) Infantry Division, where it serves as a commando reserves force.

• 
  Moshe Kelman, commander during Operation Yiftach
• 
  Mula Cohen, commander during Operation Danny
• 
  Gideon Eilat commander during Operation Yoav

Yiftach Brigade parading in Haifa. April 1949

Yiftach Brigade Second Battalion on parade marking first anniversary of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, Haifa

Yiftach Brigade Memorial near Beit Kama

Organization

• 11th Infantry Brigade "Yiftach"
  • 5037th Infantry Battalion
  • 7220th Infantry Battalion
  • 8226th Infantry Battalion
  • (7810th) Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 5011th Logistics Battalion
  • Signals Company

Military operations

The Yiftach Brigade participated in the following Israeli military operations:

• Operation Yiftach
• Operation Yoram
• Operation Danny
• Operation Yoav
• Metzudat Koach

Memorial

The memorial for the fallen soldiers of the Yiftach Brigade is situated in the northern Negev north of Rahat, near Kibbutz Beit Kama and Kama Junction on Road 40.

See also

• List of battles and operations in the 1948 Palestine war