Egoz Unit

Unit 621
Yehidat Egoz
Egoz Unit insignia
Active1995 – present
Country Israel
Branch Israeli Ground Forces
TypeSpecial Forces
RoleAnti-guerilla warfare
Special reconnaissance
Direct action
SizeBattalion
Part ofCentral Command
98th Division
89th Brigade
EngagementsSouth Lebanon conflict (1985–2000)
Second Intifada
2006 Lebanon War
Operation Protective Edge
Hamas-Israel War (2023-)
Commanders
Current
commander
Classified
Notable
commanders
Erez Zuckerman
Egoz Unit combatant pin

The Egoz Unit (Hebrew: יחידת אגוז, romanizedYehidat Egoz, lit. "Nut Unit", Egoz being the acronym for "anti-guerrilla and small-scale warfare"),[1][2] officially Unit 621, is an elite Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commando unit specializing in anti-guerrilla warfare, special reconnaissance, and direct action. It is a part of the IDF Central Command's 89th Brigade (commonly referred to as the commando brigade).[3]

The unit specializes in combat in dense terrain, fieldcraft, camouflage, and guerrilla warfare—close-range fighting where the fighter's skill and professionalism are critical to success. The unit operates in all terrains and theaters, focusing mainly on the northern sector.[4]

Egoz also has a unique ordnance platoon, tasked with developing creative solutions and technological innovations to address new challenges encountered on the battlefield and to provide defense against new methods of enemy attack.[5]

The unit’s memorial site, commemorating its various incarnations, is located at Nabi Hazuri in the northern Golan Heights.[6]

In its first iteration, the unit was established in 1956 as Egoz Reconnaissance Unit, a Northern Command reconnaissance unit, and operated until the end of the Yom Kippur War in 1974.[7]

Sayeret Egoz insignia (1956-74)
  1. ^ "יחידת אגוז: חטיבת הקומנדו - הכל על היחידה - איך מתקבלים" [Egoz Unit: the commando brigade - everything about the unit - how to be admitted in]. adrenalin-israel.co.il (in Hebrew). 12 May 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  2. ^ Danieli, Michal (1 July 2011). "אגוז: יחידת הקומנדו של זרוע היבשה" [Egoz: The commando unit of the ground force]. Mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  3. ^ Zitun, Yoav (7 July 2015). "IDF to unite elite units in new commando brigade". Ynetnews. Retrieved 26 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Egoz Unit". IDF. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  5. ^ "IDF Unit Innovation". Defense News. 20 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Nabi Hazuri Memorial Site". Israel Government Portal. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  7. ^ Barak, Amir (1999). Egoz: The History of an Elite Unit. Ma'ariv Publishing. p. 12.