K9 Unit

The ZAKA K9 Unit includes trained handlers and carefully selected search dogs, all of whom have undergone complex training. The unit operates across the country, participating in numerous search operations, including locating elderly individuals, people with Alzheimer’s disease, and those with suicidal tendencies who are missing. The unit, which conducts joint exercises with the IDF’s elite Oketz K9 Unit, is ready to join search and rescue missions anywhere in the country.

A search and rescue dog can identify the scent of a person in distress or a deceased individual (up to 48 hours after death) from a considerable distance. The handler guides the dog against the wind that carries imperceptible scents for humans. The dog can distinguish between the scent of a stationary person (the missing person) and a moving person (the search team), even at night and if the person is camouflaged or hidden. Once the dog identifies the scent, it leads the handler to its source, sits, and barks.

The dogs are brought to the search site in real-time and are released into the area to be searched, with the handler following and noting the path taken by the dog. The dogs can locate a body within just five minutes in a 500-square-meter area, even if the terrain is rocky and difficult for the search team to access.