Oketz is the Israel Defense Force's canine unit. (File)
The Israel Defense Force's canine unit, Oketz, was credited with helping rescue 200 Israelis while killing 10 Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Be'eri.
But a separate encounter on Kibbutz Kfar Aza had a more tragic outcome.
A dog named Nauru sent to locate terrorists and weapons, attacked several terrorists, revealing their position. IDF soldiers killed the terrorists, but during the hours of fighting, Nauru was killed. The soldiers retrieved Nauru's body for burial.
The commander of the Oketz unit told his soldiers: "The next step is to enter the Gaza Strip. The mission is to kill all the terrorists who will be in front of us in the field. We are true, we are strong, we are united, and we are going to win."
Oketz, which means "sting" in Hebrew, trains each of its dogs in a specific speciality -- attack, search and rescue, detecting explosives, and locating weapons.
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