Golani Brigade Marks Command Transition at Beaufort Castle

The outgoing commander's words

Speaking at the ceremony, Ganon addressed the soldiers who served under him across what he described as the most difficult and heroic battles in the brigade's recent history. "You are the brigade that has gone through the hardest and most heroic battles," he said, according to material reviewed by The Zioneer Intelligence Desk. "Battles that will be told in combat heritage for years to come."

Ganon led a force drawn from across Israeli society — secular and religious, city and village, Ashkenazi and Sephardi, reservists and regulars — and singled out the personal cost borne by his fighters: spouses, children, and families left behind for more than two years of sustained combat.

He offered a direct apology to bereaved families. "This is an opportunity to ask forgiveness from the bereaved families, who are dearer to us than anything, and to whom the State of Israel owes its life. Forgive us for not being able to reach you as we would have wanted, as would have been right."

Turning to his successor, Ganon said: "In war you need the best commanders. Your selection for this role was obvious. You are a leader and a fighting commander. I am certain you will continue to lead the brigade at the tip of the spear."

The incoming commander's pledge

Kiyof framed his appointment explicitly against the failure of October 7, 2023. "I enter my role today under a feeling of immense pride, mission, and awe," he said. "A mission that is intensified against the backdrop of the burns of the past, and above all the failure of October 7, 2023."

He defined the Golani spirit in spare terms: "To win. Never to return without completing the mission. Never to break. To command at eye level and to be a human being."

Kiyof also expressed reverence for the fallen: "Awe for those who are no longer with us — those who gave everything to stand in the mission."

Addressing his predecessor directly, he said: "Your ability to lead the IDF's leading brigade in combat for two years, while remaining humble and at eye level, is not a given. You made history. From here I commit to you to at least preserve what exists — Golani forever."

Context

Beaufort Castle — known in Arabic as Qal'at al-Shaqif — is a twelfth-century Crusader fortress commanding sweeping views across southern Lebanon and northern Israel. The IDF published footage of Golani soldiers raising the Israeli and Golani flags over the castle after capturing it, marking the deepest Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon in more than a quarter century, according to material reviewed by The Zioneer Intelligence Desk. The brigade's return to the site, where it fought in 1982, gave the command-change ceremony a layered symbolic weight that Ganon made explicit: "A picture is worth a thousand words, and this picture of yours, here at Beaufort Castle, on the ground over which Golani fought 44 years ago — this is my closing speech."

The Golani Brigade (Brigade 1) is one of the IDF's oldest and most decorated infantry formations. Since October 7, 2023, it has operated on both the Gaza and Lebanon fronts, sustaining significant losses. The full scope of those losses and the operational details of the current Lebanon campaign remain subject to military censorship; this article reflects only what has been cleared for publication.