How IDF Trainee Battalion Rushed to the Border and Fought on October 7
The 450th Battalion rushed to the border on October 7, engaging terrorists across Re'im, Nirim, and Kissufim. Despite heavy casualties and wounded commanders, trainee soldiers stepped up to fight, eliminating over twenty terrorists and rescuing hostages.
Early Saturday morning, shortly after half-past six, the alerts began to arrive. The IDF's 450th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade, comprising trainees from the parachuters and Kfir squad commanders' courses, was on standby in the Yeruham area. Within a short time, mobile phones flooded with videos from Sderot, Ofakim, and the border roads showing terrorists operating inside Israeli territory.
Lieutenant Colonel R., currently the operations officer for the 98th Division and then-commander of the battalion, realized there was no time to wait for the standard timeline of a standby force. He ordered his men to deploy immediately toward the border area, facing an incident whose scale none of them yet comprehended.
The Reality on the Roads
Upon reaching the Tze'elim area, reality began to unfold. Private vehicles arrived one after another, loaded with survivors and gunshot victims. At that stage, the soldiers did not yet know what had transpired at the Nova music festival, but they already saw bleeding, panicked people attempting to flee the combat zone. The battalion doctor began treating casualties on-site while the force continued toward the border communities.
Sergeant Sh., currently deputy company commander in the IDF's 101st Paratrooper Battalion and then a trainee in the 450th Battalion's commanders' course, recalls the moment all doubt vanished. During the drive, he saw a senior officer's body lying on the road. "That was the moment it hit me that we were in a serious incident," he recounts.
Simultaneously, Major A., who commanded the battalion's paratrooper company, was still at home preparing for an overseas delegation. Understanding the situation in the south, he immediately departed to join his men. As he approached the border, the sights grew increasingly grim: abandoned vehicles, wounded individuals, forces moving between blocked routes, and terrorists operating deep within the territory.
"It felt like a scene from an apocalypse movie," he described.
Confronting Terror in Re'im and Nirim
The force advanced toward Re'im, disembarking from their buses a few hundred meters before the junction. A policeman emerging from the bushes warned them not to approach due to terrorists at the intersection. The battalion commander replied, "It's fine, brother, that's why I'm here."
Deploying in bounds, the force faced gunfire and grenades near a bridge, subsequently sweeping the Besor Stream. During the movement, commanders spotted a white vehicle speeding westward. Passengers abandoned it and fled, and upon reaching the car, cries emerged from the trunk: "Help, help!" Soldiers opened the trunk to find a kidnapped young woman.
For the battalion commander, this was the moment the nature of the event shifted. Until then, he had focused on neutralizing terrorists and clearing routes; suddenly, he realized hostages were being taken to Gaza. At the Gama junction, soldiers discovered three young women sheltered in a roadside concrete bunker.
The Battle of Kissufim
In Kissufim, the battalion's battle escalated significantly. Soldiers advanced through the northern section of the kibbutz, identifying equipment left behind by terrorists. As they approached the housing line near the military post, heavy gunfire erupted from multiple directions alongside thrown grenades.
Several soldiers and commanders were wounded within moments. The battalion commander attempted to drag a wounded subordinate to safety before being struck in the back by gunfire.
"I felt a very strong whip-like impact," he described.
Despite bleeding and weakening, he continued issuing commands. Nearby, the company commander who had rushed from home was shot in the leg. Command structures fractured and reformed under intense fire as young trainees stepped up to lead.
Rescue and Legacy
As daylight faded, an armored vehicle entered the area, generating a smoke screen under which forces completed the evacuation of the wounded and fallen. During the day's combat in the border region, over twenty terrorists were eliminated, seven battalion members fell, and ten others were wounded.
The battalion commander returned to duty roughly a week and a half later. On October 25, less than three weeks after the battle, his son Dor was born. "I named him after this generation of fighters," he stated, "after these incredible people who went out to save residents."
The battalion lost six soldiers during the combat in Kissufim: Sergeant First Class Omri Perez, Sergeant First Class Regev Amar, Sergeant First Class Adam Agmon, Sergeant Lavi Shmuel Magid Bohanik, Sergeant Matan Israel Malka, and Sergeant Bar Yaakovlov, alongside Sergeant Natan Chai Liar who fell in Kerem Shalom on October 7. In total, 28 fallen soldiers were recorded in the Kissufim sector.
