The 252nd "Sinai" Division () is an

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

reserve division under the Southern Command. Formed in 1968, it was the first permanent division in the IDF. As of August 2024, it is commanded by Brigadier General Yehuda Vach.

History

The unit was created in 1968 in an effort to unify Israeli armoured forces in the Sinai, taking an active part in the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

. It later took an active part in the

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

. During the First Lebanon War, it operated on the eastern wing of the Israeli forces pushing into Lebanon. In the 21st century, the division has been charged with securing the

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

with

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The unit played an active role in the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

. The

said that "the 252nd Division has killed hundreds of Hamas operatives, including senior members, in Beit Hanoun and Jabaliya."

Alleged killing of civilians

The unit has been accused of arbitrary killings of civilians by

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' (; originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , , ) is an List of newspapers in Israel, Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel. The paper is published in Hebrew lan ...

. The current commander Yehuda Vach has been accused of claiming that "there are no innocents in Gaza" in the same article. The IDF has repeatedly denied similar allegations in front of the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

Division organization 2024

Israel 252nd Armored Division - Organization 2023

252nd Division "Sinai" (Reserve) ** HarelBrigade

10th Armored Brigade "Harel" (Reserve) *** 360th Armored Battalion *** 383rd Armored Battalion *** 429th Armored Battalion *** 924th Combat Engineering Battalion *** 5358th Reconnaissance Company *** Logistic Battalion *** Signal Company ** NegevBrigade

12th Infantry Brigade "Negev" (Reserve) *** 8114th Infantry Battalion *** 9208th Infantry Battalion *** 9217th Infantry Battalion *** (6863rd) Reconnaissance Battalion *** Logistic Battalion *** Signal Company ** Brigade 14 sign

14th Armored Brigade "Machatz" (Reserve) *** 79th Armored Battalion *** 87th Armored Battalion *** 184th Armored Battalion *** 271st Combat Engineering Battalion *** 5440th Reconnaissance Company *** Logistic Battalion *** Signal Company ** JerusalemBrigade

16th Infantry Brigade "Jerusalem" (Reserve) *** 7007th Infantry Battalion *** 8119th Infantry Battalion *** 9207th Infantry Battalion *** (6310th) Reconnaissance Battalion *** Logistic Battalion *** Signal Company ** Tavor

454th Artillery Brigade "Tabor/Fire Flame" (Reserve) *** 439th Artillery Battalion ( M270 "Menatetz" MLRS) *** 670th Artillery Battalion ( M109 "Doher" self-propelled howitzers) *** 7394th Artillery Battalion (M109 "Doher" self-propelled howitzers) *** 9305th Artillery Battalion (M109 "Doher" self-propelled howitzers) *** Target Acquisition Battalion *** Signal Company ** Div 252 - logistics

Division Logistic Brigade ** Sinai signal

Division Signal Battalion

References

{{Authority control Southern Command (Israel) Divisions of Israel Military units and formations established in 1968