As part of their professional and emotional processing after a sixth combat deployment since October 7, reservists from the Jerusalem Reserve Brigade, also known as the 16th Brigade, have gathered at a hotel in Tiberias. Officers in the brigade refuse to describe the past months, spent operating along Gaza’s buffer zone, as a ceasefire.
According to the IDF, brigade forces fired, shelled or used other forms of force almost daily at suspicious targets and terrorists who approached the buffer zone to test Israeli responses. Troops also continued locating Hamas tunnels and destroying weapons that remained hidden across the area.
About two weeks ago, the brigade took advantage of an incident between Rafah and Khan Younis, in which six Hamas terrorists crossed the buffer zone and were killed in a firefight with forces from the 7th Armored Brigade. In response to that breach in their sector, Jerusalem Brigade soldiers requested and received approval within minutes to strike accumulated targets.
Within 40 minutes, reserve forces shelled 15 Hamas targets beyond the buffer zone. The strikes included suspected booby-trapped intersections, surveillance and filming cameras installed by Hamas, and fighting positions built over recent months within short running distance of IDF positions.
Despite these actions, the military assesses that Hamas’ main rebuilding effort, which Southern Command is restricted from targeting under current arrangements, is taking place deeper inside the Gaza Strip. Hamas is believed to be redeploying and strengthening its presence across nearly all areas under its control beyond the buffer zone.
During a previous round last year, the 16th Brigade forces destroyed about 1,500 structures in the same area between the Shajaiyah, Daraj Tuffah and Zeitoun neighborhoods of eastern Gaza City. Those buildings were later fully demolished to prevent their use as terrorist hideouts and attack positions. Hamas has since exploited every remaining structure, including those just dozens of meters from the buffer zone.
IDF forces identified Hamas observation posts inside buildings such as schools and clinics. According to the army, Hamas moved civilians into these sites early in the ceasefire period so they would be marked as sensitive locations on IDF maps. Troops also observed Hamas setting up roadblocks to funnel civilians into designated “shelters,” allowing terrorists to redeploy under civilian cover.
Early in the current deployment, brigade forces shelled Hamas observation and filming positions in one such building. Palestinian sources reported civilian casualties in the Daraj Tuffah neighborhood. An IDF inquiry found the strike required, and received, approval from a senior officer at the level of a regional commander.
One of the challenges facing brigade commanders during this round was restraining troops who had grown accustomed to more permissive rules of engagement during maneuver warfare. “Beyond guarding the buffer zone, the forces systematically located tunnels,” the IDF said, noting that the Alexandroni Brigade has since taken over that mission in the sector.
The Jerusalem Brigade has lost 16 soldiers during the war. In the current round, one soldier was seriously wounded by an accidental discharge. According to IDF data, brigade forces killed at least 14 Hamas terrorists during less than three months of operational activity.
The reservists are scheduled to return home this week following their release from duty, with a general alert for another round in September. At the same time, the brigade will remain on standby in case fighting with Hamas resumes or other escalation scenarios emerge, including potential developments involving Iran.
Such readiness is not new for the unit. Last year, the brigade was activated unexpectedly during Operation With All a Lion, shortly after completing another Gaza deployment. According to the IDF, about 80 percent of the brigade’s fighters reported for the current round, a relatively high turnout compared with other reserve units in later stages of the war.
Brigade commanders have also decided to end the practice of attaching outside forces, aiming to restore the organic structure of companies and battalions and avoid problems linked to ad hoc use of reserve days. To ease the burden on soldiers, the brigade replaced week-on, week-off rotations with a two-thirds, one-third model, averaging eight days in the field and six days at home.