12 hours. 12 hours. It is difficult to explain how long this is. In 12 hours you can drive a car from Tel Aviv to Eilat, drive all the way back and return to Eilat again. In 12 hours you can get from Israel to New York, including the waits at Ben Gurion Airport and La Guardia. In 12 hours, you can watch eight (8!) football matches in a row – but even the most diehard fan can't do it.
So save? To keep 12 hours in a miserable position, in terrifying heat? No one can stand it. Put high-ranking officials with vests and weapons together for 12 hours in such a position. After that, we'll see if the two don't make a decision on changing the nefarious procedure on the spot.
Lia's sister tearfully eulogized: "Thank you for being your sister" // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
The disaster that occurred between Friday and Saturday on the border with Egypt, in which two fighters and one female fighter were killed, should light a large, bright red light in the faces of the chief of staff and the head of the Southern Command. 12 hours of guard activity - observation or spatial security, is a Sisyphean operation that will never have a purpose. No one can remain alert, alert, and certainly not sharp at this time. Add to this the extreme terrain, the heart of the desert between Har Harif and Mount Sagi, on a hot day of 40 degrees in the shade and when at night it is bone-freezing cold. Add to that a sandy wind that enters every pore in the body, silence that pierces the night and desert darkness - and tell them if it's human.
What did the border protection commander think who planned this mission? Where were the brigade commander, the division commander, where was the commanding general? Have they forgotten Ben-Gurion's saying: "Every Hebrew mother should know that she has entrusted the fate of her sons to the commanders who deserve it"? After all, who believes among the IDF command staff that this is a task that a soldier can accomplish on a one-time basis or over time? After all, these commanders themselves did not meet the long and exhausting task given to them by the air-conditioned operations room, and did not contact the fighter at least once every half hour to make sure that they were safe and sound and alert for any threat.
Uri Yitzhak's father, who was killed in an attack on the Egyptian border, was eulogized for his son // Photo: David Cohen
I also served in the Air Force and not as a combat soldier, and every few months I was required to perform guard duty. These were guard posts at a base in the lowlands, and the shifts were between 4 and 6 hours, and like clockwork, every hour, the patrol jeep passed by and checked what was happening with us, if we needed anything, just to give us a few minutes of the never-ending guard.
The fighters of the mixed battalions, which are deployed within Israel's borders, are doing holy work. Every female and female fighter is the insurance policy of the Israeli public, to whom we entrust our daily routine and the rest of our nights. They are our human defensive wall, stretching from sea to mountain from south to north and east to west.
The Chief of the General Staff is now required to thoroughly investigate the failures of commanders at all levels, from the top echelons of the IDF to the battalion level. I have no doubt that the commanders failed in the most important task, to take care of the lives of these fighters. The serious incident that took place between Friday and Saturday near the same roast, which the IDF calls a guard post, must not be repeated.
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