Bislamach Brigade

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Bislamach Brigade
Insignia of the School
Active	1974–present
Country	Israel
Type	Training
Engagements	Battle of Zikim Rafah offensive ● Killing of Yahya Sinwar

The Bislamach^[a] (Hebrew: ביסלמ"ח) is the Israel Defense Forces body responsible for the training of all Infantry Corps squad commanders and platoon sergeants.

Established in 1974 under the command of Yaakov Hasdai [he], ^[1] the school comprises three operative battalions (17th, 906th, and 450th), ordinarily used for training. During wars or emergencies, as was the case during the Yom Kippur War, these serve as fully operational combat forces. Since 2006 these battalions form the 828th Brigade (formerly 772th Brigade), referred to as the Bislamach Brigade (formerly called Bislach Brigade).

The school has three bases, all located in the Negev. In wartime the School formes the Infantry Brigade "Bislamach".

Before Operation Rainbow, during the Al-Aqsa Intifada, the brigade's soldiers participated in searching the Philadelphi Route for the bodies of the soldiers from the Sayeret Yahalom, who were killed during the armoured personnel carrier disaster of May 11–12, 2004. They also took part in the Gaza disengagement plan, following which they were the first to hold the border with the Gaza Strip.

The 17th Battalion of the brigade was involved in combat in the Battle of Zikim, claiming to have killed four militants at Zikim Beach in a video posted to social media on 10 October 2023.^[2]

The unit later saw action in the Bureij Camp in late December 2023.^[3] At the start of March the unit replaced the 89th paratroopers brigade in Khan Younis.^[4] In May of the same year, the unit saw action in North Gaza.^[5]

On October 16, 2024, the 17th Battalion Brigade unexpectedly encountered Yahya Sinwar in Rafah,^[6] and killed him in a shootout;^[7] his identity was determined after the firefight via DNA matching and dental records.^[8][9][10]

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