Getting the gang together: The Be’eri Battalion of Yoaz Hendel’s reservists defies expectations

How in the world did former minister Yoaz Hendel, 49, organize an entire battalion of adults, known as the Be’eri Battalion – most of them over the age of 50 (the cutoff for standard reserve service is age 49) – to fight in Gaza and, recently, also in the North after October 7?

Some of it goes back to his roots as a naval commando from the Shayetet 13 and that, other than when he was in the government, he commanded regular groups of reservists.

“Sometimes I served for a month at a time, sometimes more or less than that. But this is part of being in a special forces unit. It is part of your identity. I had to pause reserve duty while I was in the government, but once I was out, I returned to active status immediately,” Hendel told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview.

“On October 7, I had no specific assignment,” Hendel recalled. “I just traveled to the South with my weapon. By October 8, I was given a command and staff. We conducted surveillance of the areas that had been invaded… and checked areas for leftover terrorists and secured open areas.”

Recalling that period with obvious pain in his eyes, he stated, “At first, it was apocalyptic scenes with bodies strewn everywhere.”

But out of this chaos came a new generation of volunteers, both people who constantly brought food and equipment for the soldiers, and new or returned volunteer soldiers, he said.

“I found myself in a high-stakes scenario for defending the country. I looked in both directions and saw there was no one. If I didn’t jump in, no one else would. This happened with many reservists and civilians who just took on responsibility and command roles.”

He added, “I knew I could not rely on the political echelon to act,” given that they were paralyzed and in shock.

Similarly, Sgt.-Maj. and company logistics officer Abraham Shati reached out to various contacts after October 7 to try find a way to pitch in, which eventually led him to Hendel’s battalion.

Until the war and when he was not in uniform, Shati was a real-estate and logistics developer, not so different from others in the battalion who are often investors, educators, and business managers.

'A group effort'

“It is a group effort, though Yoaz is the leader,” Shati observed. “We built it from nothing, but many people work to rally the group together.”

Some of what the Be’eri Battalion did was typical soldier work, searching out Hamas tunnels and killing Hamas terrorists around the Netzarim Corridor, which splits northern and southern Gaza.

They found at least 12 terrorists – at least four were part of the Nukhba Unit and involved in the October 7, 2023 massacre.

“We spent months in the field in the fall. The 20-year-olds did not do better than me, since it is mostly a matter of motivation,” said Shati.

But there was also a lighter side that the battalion helped the military with.

During periods where they were at Netzarim, but not specifically searching for Nukba terrorists, Shati noticed, “The army was just throwing out extra food when it did not have time to deal with it… If we are here, we will convert the area into a ‘restaurant.’ There will be food at all times. I am the logistics officer. Anyone who comes in will get food and we will really take care of them.”

Next, he said, “We will not ‘discriminate’ by specific units. We’ll host whoever shows up. It was ‘Abraham’s Tent.’ Everyone was invited even though usually one unit might yell at another unit to leave.”

Further, he said, “We organized the food and ourselves into rotations of waiters and had 12 waiters serving food to around 500 people per day.

“This was part of our concept about how to do more for the army,” said Shati.

MORE RECENTLY, a message went around to the Be’eri Battalion that 10 soldiers were needed immediately up North for a specific emergency task. There were 30 volunteers. “I didn’t ask or question. I just said I’ll come,” said Shati along with 30 others.

“When we were in Gaza, everyone also did guard duty, including Yoaz on the weekend, like every soldier. This was a personal example and the younger soldiers see this. They  see the older people carrying out various cleaning rotation duties, including volunteering to clean the bathroom and the showers with an enthusiastic commitment to the task at hand.” He said all of this gives them more spirit for the mission.

In Hendel’s view, the war “has taken an emotional stability mental toll” on the whole military.

He recalled how “twice we encountered improvised explosives, but got lucky that did not explode. There was one explosive in a bag,” which they tried to drag away with a hook.

Eventually, the used tank fire to cause it to explode from a distance, he recounted

But he added that he has a good friend, a neighbor in the 646 paratroopers, whom he met at the Netzarim Corridor during our service. “Later, he was seriously wounded by an RPG. It’s a major crisis for his whole family. Suddenly, it just happened. Why did he need to be there?

“You have responsibility on the battlefield. We were mostly around the Netzarim Corridor. We carried out ambushes and had to worry about mortar fire. About once a day, we were given a rocket warning. But there are strong bomb shelters,” said Hendel.

Still, you don’t always see the threat coming. “There can always be a surprise, like a sudden mortar.” Many of those killed don’t see an RPG attack coming on their hummer,” and they are hit before they know it. “Guerrilla warfare is complex.”

HENDEL ALSO outlined some of the Be’eri Battalion tactics in the field: “Our forces were traveling around 2 km. at night. We were often in a holding pattern for several hours until we found Hamas terrorists.

“The drones changed the war,” he observed. “Both our own, which belonged to the battalion and also from the air force. You get to survey the battle space and learn. If you don’t have a way to observe things going forward, that can be a problem. Having such an advantage at all times is a big change.”

Moreover, he warned, “You cannot always find and stop them [Hamas] and especially not all drones have full night capabilities. All of this is expensive. But even after the technology, you need boots on the ground. Ground maneuvers facilitate maximizing the use of artillery and drone firepower, along with strong intelligence.”

Hendel and Shati both gave their battalion high marks for tricky situations in which it might not be immediately clear whether an approaching Palestinian was a terrorist or a civilian.

Shati specifically said that their older soldiers remained calm in such nuanced pressure situations, so that they could check whether or not the person was armed, without endangering themselves or being trigger happy.