Three of its commanders (Mordechai Gur, Gabi Ashkenazi and Gadi Eizenkot) have become IDF Chiefs of Staff, with many more reaching the rank of aluf (major general).

As the end of the British Mandate of Palestine was fast approaching, the leadership of the Haganah drafted Plan Dalet for its subsequent organization and operations.

[5] The first Golani action following the Arab intervention in the 1948 war was the defense of the kibbutzim Degania Alef and Bet from the Syrian Army in the Battles of the Kinarot Valley.

Units from the Barak Battalion, with Yiftach (Palmach) and Guard Corps reinforcements, successfully fended off a Syrian attack.

Golani reinforced a reserve battalion and entered a battle that lasted five days, costing the brigade 40 dead and 72 wounded.

[15] In early 1960, after a border incident on the backdrop of the Israeli–Syrian water dispute, Golani destroyed the abandoned village al-Tawafiq, which overlooked Tel Katzir and was used by the Syrians as a military base.

The soldiers drove into a minefield and were forced to abandon their half-tracks, advancing to the trenches of Tel Azaziyat on foot.

[26] The raid on Wadi al-Yabis, code-named Operation Asuta 12, was carried out by the Golani reconnaissance unit and the 12th Battalion on May 4, 1969.

While the attack did not go as planned when the bombs laid near the canal were detonated prematurely, it was destroyed and the water drained into the Yarmouk River.

In October 1969, the brigade's forces attacked Itarun (Operation Double Bass 1), Tel Sadr al-Arus and 'Arab Zahiran.

Another operation, Double Bass 10, involved a retaliatory raid on Kfar Kila on January 2, 1970, in response to the kidnapping of an elderly guard from Metula by Fatah two days earlier.

[32] During this period, Golani units were also stationed along the Bar Lev line and participated in the War of Attrition, especially in the Qantara East area.

[34] The mission was a resounding success, although there were three hostages killed as well as Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan Netanyahu, the commander of Sayeret Matkal who spearheaded the attack.

Like the rest of the IDF, the Golani Brigade was caught by surprise with the first Arab attack of the Yom Kippur War.

The brigade's sector in the Golan Heights was lightly manned, and most of its units were either on leave or preparing for a planned major ceremony.

[36] After helping fend off two major Syrian offensives, armored forces joined the battle in the area and gave Golani time to reorganize.

The 12th Battalion captured Jubata al-Khashab and Tel al-Ahmad, and later took positions and fended off Syrian attacks in Mazra'at Beit Jan.

[41] After the agreement was signed, the brigade, which had lost many of its top officers in the war, was transferred into the Sinai to rebuild and train.

[24][46] The 12th Battalion was subordinated to the Barak Armored Brigade, with a planned thrust along the Lebanese coastal strip to Tyre.

[49] Two years after the start of the Second Intifada in 2000, Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield in response to growing Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians.

[54] Following the deployment of Golani soldiers in Hebron in December 2011, the Left wing press has reported that city residents have sensed a 'manifest worsening of soldiers behavior', as a result of 'detention, intimidation, provocation and arrest of children and teenagers; arbitrary detention of Palestinians or blocking access to roads; beating or threatened beating of detained residents; religion-based provocation and insults; forcible entry into homes and violation of Palestinian property' and 'reprisals against local and international human rights activists.

'[55][56] At 1:05 a.m. on July 20, 2014, during Operation Protective Edge, seven Golani soldiers from the 13th Battalion were killed in the Battle of Shuja'iyya when an M113 armoured personnel carrier they were being transported in caught fire after an explosive device was set off under it.

[59] The Golani Brigade's 13th and 51st Battalions suffered heavy casualties during the Hamas offensive of southern Israel in October 2023.

According to the Israel Defense Forces at least 72 Golani soldiers were killed and an unknown number had been captured while defending the Iron Wall.

Golani soldiers were underequipped and overstretched all along the border and were not able to repel the militants on the first line of military bases and kibbutzim that they assigned numerous platoons to defend.

The Hamas fighters outnumbered them were able to defeat these Iron Wall bases with infantry tactics while using RPGs and Toyota pickup trucks and motorcycles for ground vehicles.

[64][65] On December 12, 2023, seven Golani Brigade soldiers were killed in a booby-trapped building and subsequent ambush during the Siege of Gaza City.

[66][67] On 3 October 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq launched a kamikaze drone attack on a military base in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, killing two soldiers and injuring 24 others of the Golani Brigade's 13th Battalion.

[70] Early Golani soldiers were farmers and new immigrants, so the strong connection to the land (earth) was important to honor.

[69] The Golani Brigade's official song was written by Amos Ettinger, composed by Efi Netzer and popularly performed by Yehoram Gaon.