IDF Southern Command HQ (Padam) (Beersheba) | military, headquarters, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

 military, headquarters, Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Housed on the site of the ex-British Mandate Tegart Fort in the Old City of Beersheba, the Israeli Southern Command (Hebrew: פיקוד דרום‎, transliterated: Pikud Darom), often abbreviated to Padam (פד"מ) is a regional command of the Israel Defense Forces. It is responsible for the Negev, the Arava, and Eilat. It is currently headed by Aluf Tal Russo.

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.

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, while the Philadelphi Route was given to Egypt, who did not however prevent the movement of thousands of Palestinians between the Gaza Strip and the Sinai through the city of Rafah. As 2006, 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.

The Command comprises principally in x1 (Reserve) Armor Division (incld. x1 Regular Infantry Brigade) together with x2 Territorial (Infantry) Divisions, as follows :

Order of Battle :
366th "Amud ha-Esh"/"Pillar of Fire" Armor Division (Reserve) - Admin HQ at Camp Nathan :
new.wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=31.220582&lon=34.798079&...

The Gaza (Territorial) Division - HQ @ Re'im Army Camp :
new.wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=31.364374&lon=34.446280&...

80th "Edom" (Territorial) Division - Camp Har Asa :
new.wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=29.568325&lon=34.903339&...

with the support of x2 further Reserve Armor Divisions, as follows :

252nd "Sinai" (Reserve) Armor Division - HQ @ Camp Lahav :
new.wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=30.892319&lon=34.476728&...
and

14th "Bison" (Reserve) Armor Division - HQ Tze'elim Army Base :
new.wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=31.181911&lon=34.551487&...

dover.idf.il/IDF/units/pikudim/south/default.htm