and killed three Hezbollah operatives while suffering two dead and several injured soldiers. The unit is credited with killing sixteen guerrillas in 1996. In the 2006 Lebanon War, five Egoz operators were killed and six wounded in the Battle of Maroun al-Ras, following a direct hit by an AT-3 Sagger anti-tank missile. An estimated 13 members of Hezbollah were killed. In Operation Protective Edge, three members of Unit Egoz were killed during unit operations in the Gaza Strip. On 21 July 2014, in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood of Gaza City, Egoz forces engaged and neutralized ten Hamas militants, including one that detonated a suicide vest. Training Egoz training is split into multiple phases: 4 month basic and advanced infantry training within the Golani Brigade 2 weeks Airborne School 10 months advanced Commando brigade training pipeline. At the completion of the first phase, recruits begin a specialized training regimen in the Commando Brigade. Each Egoz recruit goes through extensive background checks and interviews by Israeli intelligence to determine whether or not they should be screened out of the second phase of training. Those that continue training with the unit begin an intensive ten-month Egoz training program. The training program in Egoz is known to be one of the toughest in the IDF, as can be explained by the notably high drop rate of recruits. The Egoz training program is designed to bring recruits to their mental and physical limits in order to prepare them for their operational service. Among other things, the recruits train in extensive long-range navigation/orienteering, camouflage, reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, and various kinds of warfare and assaults. Egoz is one of a few units in the IDF that trains its recruits in long-range solo navigations. In addition to other highly classified unit-specific courses, every Egoz soldier completes the IDF commanders course. References Military units and formations of Israel Northern Command (Israel) Special forces of Israel Counterterrorist organizations Military units and formations established in 1956