{"id":314241,"date":"2026-02-28T06:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/314241\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T06:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T06:00:14","slug":"new-idf-pereh-reserve-unit-formed-after-oct-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/314241\/","title":{"rendered":"new IDF \u2018Pereh\u2019 reserve unit formed after Oct. 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 7:45 p.m., the forward team of the IDF\u2019s \u201cPereh\u201d unit stormed the dining hall of the Regavim yeshiva, where \u201chostages\u201d were being held as part of a drill. On their way in, the reservists, all residents of the Golan Heights, passed a memorial board honoring the school\u2019s alumni. One of them is Staff Sgt. Neria Ben-David, a platoon commander in the 603rd Combat Engineering Battalion who was killed at Kibbutz Be\u2019eri on October 7.<\/p>\n

L., Neria\u2019s brother, now serves in Pereh, the Bashan Division\u2019s immediate response unit. His second daughter was born days earlier, so he did not take part in last week\u2019s unit exercise in the moshav of Natur.<\/p>\n

Footage from the Pereh unit drill<\/p>\n

(Video: Yoav Keren)<\/p>\n

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Unit fighters during the exercise <\/p>\n

(Photo: Efi Sharir)<\/p>\n

On the morning of October 7, Neria was stationed in the southern Hebron Hills. \u201cHe headed south with his battalion commander in two jeeps,\u201d said L., 26. \u201cThey fought at the Yad Mordechai junction, Netiv HaAsara and Alumim. In the end they reached Be\u2019eri. My brother saved many families and killed quite a few terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nearly 300 kilometers (185 miles) separate the Golan Heights from the Gaza border communities. Lt. Col. (res.) Y., now commander of Pereh, made that drive on October 7. A 38-year-old father of five from Hispin, he grew up in the elite Duvdevan unit and later served in one of Military Intelligence\u2019s operational units.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn October 7, I wasn\u2019t assigned to any reserve unit,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI left home at 9 a.m., started heading south and by noon joined Duvdevan in Kfar Aza.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the battle for the Young Generation neighborhood in Kfar Aza, Master Sgt. (res.) Omri Michaeli, a veteran Duvdevan fighter whose photo wrapped in an Israeli flag after he was wounded in the 2014 Gaza war became iconic, was killed.<\/p>\n

\u201cOmri and I served together for many years,\u201d Y. said. \u201cIn June 2024, our fifth son was born. My wife and I decided to hold the brit milah in Kfar Aza, and that his grandfather would be Mickey, Omri\u2019s father. His mother, Rina, was also there. We named our son Nir Oz,\u201d after another Gaza border kibbutz attacked on October 7.<\/p>\n

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\"Omri<\/a>\"Omri<\/p>\n

Omri Michaeli salutes after being wounded in Operation Protective Edge <\/p>\n

(Photo: Israel Yosef)<\/p>\n

In the early months of the ground offensive, Y. fought in Gaza with Duvdevan. \u201cOne weekend in February 2024, I came home on leave but couldn\u2019t sit still,\u201d he said. \u201cI went to the division to help plan an operation. The regional defense officer saw me and said, \u2018We\u2019re setting up a new unit in the Golan Heights and looking for a commander. Want to interview?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Lt. Col. N., the regional defense officer for Division 210, described his role as \u201cthe army\u2019s representative to the residents and the residents\u2019 representative to the army.\u201d About 52,000 people live in the Golan Heights, roughly half Jewish and half Druze. The division, commanded by Brig. Gen. Yair Peli, who led the Golani Brigade on October 7, is responsible for their security.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing October 7, the \u2018Meshiv Haruach\u2019 plan was created to strengthen local defense across all sectors,\u201d N. said. Community emergency squads were upgraded into infantry-style defense platoons, and in Katzrin into a full company. In addition, each regional division was instructed to establish an immediate response unit. \u201cThis is the strongest and most significant fist the division can deploy against a sudden incident in a community,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Pereh became operational in September 2024. All its fighters and commanders live in the Golan Heights. They are veterans of elite units such as Duvdevan, Maglan, Egoz and reconnaissance units, as well as regular infantry battalions. Some served in top-tier units including the Navy\u2019s Shayetet 13 and the Air Force\u2019s Shaldag.<\/p>\n

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Because the sector is vast, companies and teams are organized geographically: southern, central and northern Golan. A specialized \u201cRoma Team\u201d serves as the unit\u2019s reconnaissance element.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou build yourself to be a buffer between the enemy and civilians, and that has many implications,\u201d Y. said. \u201cThe leading title is local fighter. First is availability, to arrive as quickly as possible and link up with the community defense platoon. Second is commitment. In the end, you\u2019re defending your home. Third is familiarity with the terrain and population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Availability is critical, said Capt. A., a team commander. Fighters update their status daily to indicate whether they are in the sector, within an hour\u2019s drive or outside the area.<\/p>\n

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Maj. A., 34, a father of four from Katzrin and a former Duvdevan fighter, joined Pereh after serving in Gaza as a reserve officer. \u201cI heard they were establishing a new unit in the Golan, got excited about the idea and made the move,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

D., 42, a father of three from the moshav of Kanaf and a former Egoz fighter, was in the United States for work when the war broke out and returned within days to report for reserve duty.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a Golan resident and a father, I feel much safer today,\u201d he said. \u201cOn October 7, I was stressed knowing my family was here and that if something happened in the north, no one would be protecting them. Today I know that even if I\u2019m abroad, someone will.\u201d<\/p>\n

Golan Regional Council head Uri Kellner, a former deputy commander of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade, said he sleeps better but remains wary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe enemy is smart,\u201d he said, warning of potential threats from Syria. \u201cOn October 7, I told myself: I will not let something like that happen in the Golan Heights. Never again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Five days after his brother was killed, L. was informed of Neria\u2019s death by his company commander. He debated whether to attend the funeral. \u201cOn one hand, it hurts terribly. On the other, entire families were murdered and we have to fight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite his loss, he insisted on entering Gaza with his reserve brigade but later transferred units after consulting his rabbi, to avoid causing further anguish to his mother, who suffered cardiac arrest during the mourning period and survived.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very frustrated that my friends were fighting and I wasn\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cThen I heard about Pereh. I said, \u2018OK, let\u2019s try.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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L. with his brother, Staff Sgt. Neria Ben-David <\/p>\n

(Photo: Selfie)<\/p>\n

Some Pereh fighters are past the usual exemption age. One, 48, from the moshav of Ani\u2019am, helped establish his community\u2019s emergency squad on October 7. \u201cAfter a year, when we had a stable defense platoon, I felt I could move to the next challenge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The unit trains at least once a month, including surprise drills. It has also been mobilized as a divisional reserve during operations in Lebanon and amid tensions with Iran. Many of its fighters have taken part in operational activity beyond the Syrian border.<\/p>\n

In the recent drill at the Regavim yeshiva, the entire unit simulated a takeover by terrorists. The exercise lasted about three hours. From the sidelines, the reservists looked indistinguishable from an active-duty elite unit, advancing from the rear gate after the main entrance was \u201cseized,\u201d conducting situation assessments and issuing orders.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may be a drill,\u201d Y. said, \u201cbut on October 7 it was real.\u201d<\/p>\n

D. had a message for any potential adversary: \u201cIf the enemy is reading this article, I strongly advise them not to think about coming here. Because they won\u2019t return home to tell about it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At 7:45 p.m., the forward team of the IDF\u2019s \u201cPereh\u201d unit stormed the dining hall of the Regavim…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":314242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-314241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=314241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/314241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/314242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=314241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=314241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=314241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}