The fighters and dogs of the Oketz Unit joined the infantry, armor and engineering forces in the Gaza Strip from the beginning of the fighting. The fighters and the dogs are attached to the fighting forces, assisting in locating and finding terrorists, locating explosives and weapons, locating missing persons and fallen soldiers.
During the fighting, the fighters located dozens of explosives in captured locations and dozens of munitions stockpiles. In addition, the female fighters of the unit take a significant part in the effort to locate findings and information regarding the abducted and missing persons in the Gaza Strip.
As part of the unit's activity, Oketz fighters together with their dogs located explosives in a room at the Rantisi hospital along with weapons and other means of war. In another activity, during a scan, a dog of the unit located an explosive barrel that was attached to a weapon in the area with the aim of hitting the forces that would arrive in the area.
Four dogs, who took a significant part in the fighting together with the unit's fighters, were killed during clashes in the Gaza Strip, while protecting the IDF forces with their bodies. The dogs will be brought to a burial ceremony in the unit, in the section designated for this purpose.