Home Front Command Kedem Battalion 489 patch

489th Kedem Battalion

The battalion was established on August 4, 2009. The battalion has three companies whose initials form the name of the battalion: Keren Company, David Company, and Magen Company.

Under the Jerusalem District of the Home Front Command and constitutes the second regular rescue and rescue battalion in the IDF. The battalion operated in the south of the country during Operation Protective Edge, and took an active part in a variety of events, including the collapse of the parking lot in Ramat HaHayal in 2016. The battalion took part, among other things, in the rescue event in the gas explosion in Netanya and the collapse of a building in Acre. During Operation Protective Edge, the battalion was on rescue alert in sectors in the south of the country, including in the city of Beersheba, and carried out rescue and civil assistance missions. On February 29, 2016, the battalion’s fighters (together with Border Guard fighters) rescued two soldiers who accidentally entered the Qalandiya refugee camp south of Ramallah.

n the seventh week of the war, the IDF entered Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Among the forces involved in uncovering the underground tunnels beneath the hospital was the Kedem Battalion under the command of Lt. Col. Bayani Khair, which included one female fighter in this operation, Sergeant Ziv, the first female fighter to operate in underground tunnels in Gaza. The tunnels included a branched route dozens of meters long, fighting, hiding and resting rooms, air-conditioned rooms, a kitchen and toilets – which allowed for a prolonged stay in the place. Numerous weapons were also found at the site, as well as evidence that hostages had previously been held in the tunnels. The uncovering of the tunnels was an important intelligence and operational achievement for the IDF forces. The battalion won several awards and distinctions. The battalion was recognized as the Outstanding Battalion in Judea and Samaria for 2014 and as the Chief of Staff’s Outstanding Battalion in 2015. And the Outstanding Battalion of the Judea and Samaria Division for 2017