For the first time since the establishment of the haredi Hashmonaim Brigade, two of its battalions - the "Shimon" reserve battalion and the "Yonatan" regular-service battalion - are operating simultaneously in the northern sector.
The battalions' deployment comes as part of heightened alert levels and the reinforcement of IDF forces across various sectors during the Jewish autumn holiday season.
For the Shimon Battalion, the Hashmonaim Brigade's first reserve battalion, this marks its first defensive mission in the northern sector.
Its soldiers are graduates of the Stage B enlistment track, who joined the reserves after previously receiving exemptions from military service. Ahead of their operational deployment, they underwent full combat training at the Hasmonean Brigade's training base, adapted to the haredi lifestyle.
In the north, the reservists are serving alongside the brigade's Yonatan Battalion, a regular-service unit that has already accumulated extensive operational experience in the sector, having fought there for more than six months.
The simultaneous deployment of the two battalions is part of the IDF's expansion since the outbreak of the war. During this period, dozens of new regular-service and reserve battalions have been established to increase the number of personnel serving and ease the burden on active-duty soldiers and reservists.
