Southern Command (Israel)

The Southern Command (פיקוד דרום), often abbreviated to Padam (פד"מ), is a regional command of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is responsible for the Negev, the Arava, and Eilat. It is currently headed by Yaron Finkelman.

History
For many years the Southern Command was tasked with defending the Negev and securing the border on the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt. The Southern Command led IDF troops in five wars against Egypt: the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the Suez War, the Six-Day War, the War of Attrition, and the Yom Kippur War. This high operational activity and its demanding toll resulted in the Southern Command's Alufs (SCA) being replaced fairly rapidly.

The most famous leadership replacements took place in 1973, during the Yom Kippur War when Shmuel Gonen was suspended as the SCA due to repeated disputes with Ariel Sharon, who was the previous SCA. The government-appointed Haim Bar-Lev, who was the former Chief of the General Staff, as the new SCA in an emergency directive. After the Egypt–Israel peace treaty, the southern front remained quiet and most of the activity centred on guarding the borders from smugglers and fluid security over the Gaza Strip.

During the Second Intifada, the Command was placed in charge-of counter-terrorist efforts. The Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated places in the world, was known as a stronghold for extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad, who engaged in Palestinian political violence. The local production and proliferation of light anti-tank weapons by these groups, made travel by lightly armored vehicles dangerous.

From 2004, the fighting in Gaza became especially intensive, and on the IDF's part, included targeted killings, short armored expeditions, and efforts to locate and destroy the smuggling tunnels used by Palestinian militant groups to obtain weapons.

During 2005, the Southern Command was involved in the unilateral Gaza disengagement plan, initiated by Ariel Sharon (Prime Minister of Israel, 2001–2006), which mainly entailed the removals of all Israeli settlements from the Gaza Strip and back to the Israeli side of the Green Line. The Command re-situated itself north of the Gaza fence. The Philadelphi Route was given to Egypt, who did not prevent the movement of thousands of Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai through the city of Rafah. , the attempt to infiltrate Israel to perform suicide bombings and the launch of Qassam rockets, especially by Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees, remains ongoing and is the central focus of the Southern Command.

Command organization 2024



 * PadamLogoFrom2019.svg Southern Command
 * Edom 80th Division.svg 80th Territorial Division "Edom"
 * HativatYoavFrom2016.svg Yoav Brigade
 * תג חטיבה 460.svg 460th Armored Brigade "Bnei Or/Sons of Light" (Armor Training)
 * Logo hativa Faran.svg 512th Territorial Brigade "Paran"
 * Hatamnew.svg 425th Artillery Brigade (Field Artillery School)
 * Logo-ugdat-gaza new.png 143rd Territorial Division "Firefox"
 * Bahad 1 Symbol.SVG 261st Infantry Brigade (Reserve) (formed by the Israeli Ground Forces Officers School)
 * Logo-hativat-katif.png Katif Brigade (Southern Gaza)
 * Logo-hativat-gefen.png Gefen Brigade (Northern Gaza)
 * Logo-ugda-162.png 162nd Armored Division "Ha-Plada/Steel"
 * Hativa 5.png 5th Infantry Brigade "HaSharon" (Reserve)
 * תג חטיבת גבעתי.svg 84th Infantry Brigade "Givati"
 * תג יחידה 401.svg 401st Armored Brigade "I'kvot ha-Barzel/Iron Trails"
 * Nahal Brigade.svg 933rd Infantry Brigade "Nahal"
 * Utzbat Amud Haesh Eged 215 Tag.svg 215th Artillery Brigade
 * Sinai 252nd Division.svg 252nd Armored Division "Sinai"
 * HarelBrigade.svg 10th Armored Brigade "Harel" (Reserve)
 * NegevBrigade.svg 12th Infantry Brigade "Negev" (Reserve)
 * Brigade 14 sign.svg 14th Armored Brigade (Israel) (Reserve)
 * JerusalemBrigade.png 16th Infantry Brigade "Jerusalem" (Reserve)
 * Tavor.png 454th Artillery Brigade (Israel) (Reserve)
 * Padam kesher.png Southern Command Signal Battalion
 * IDF Combat Engineering Corps at Southern Command.svg Southern Command Engineering Unit 803
 * HamanDarom.svg Southern Command Intelligence Unit
 * MishtaraPadam.svg Southern Command Military Police Unit 392
 * IDF Medical Corps at Southern Command.svg Southern Command Medical Unit
 * Yahsham653.png Southern Command Maintenance Unit 653
 * Zeelim.png Southern Command Training Base "Tze'elim"
 * Almar 5005.png 5005th Logistic Unit (Southwest)
 * Almar 5006.png 5006th Logistic Unit (Southeast)