Even fifty years after that war, his uncle Canaan, 71, cannot forget the four most dangerous and difficult days of his life. At that time, Canaan was a shadowy and secret man, serving in Intelligence Unit 848 (today's 8200), and suddenly found himself at the forefront of the fighting, in the IDF's "Furkan" stronghold on the Suez Canal - in the heart of the Egyptian attacks.
"All my military service I used my ears or eyes, because my job was to collect intelligence. But suddenly I had to become a fighter. So I grabbed the Uzi rifle and went in to return fire from the positions. The Egyptians apparently thought we had a large and strong force in the stronghold, so under cover of the dust that flooded them, they retreated."
At 13:50 p.m., hell began
Canaan spent most of his military service at the base in Loza, 30 kilometers from the Canal. "We knew that at the end of September, the Egyptians were supposed to begin an annual strategic exercise," he recalls of 1973.
"The exercise was called Tahrir (release in Arabic). Our section head, Noam Shapira, briefed us that there were signs that this was not an exercise this year, but something that could develop into a war. We have received quite a few reports from all sorts of directions that seem to really mean war."
The listening platoon of a mobile battalion, attached during the war to Major General Baran's 162nd Division, photo: 8200 Alumni Association
And what did you do then? What was your role in the force?
"I was in the center of the country at the time, but the head of my branch informed me that he was sending me to Sinai. He explained that I would get a team of three people there and asked me to try to absorb networks that broadcast short-ranges, Egyptian networks that might not be received at our permanent bases. Since I couldn't get something like that directly from a base that was about 30 kilometers from the Suez Canal, we went down to the Furkan stronghold, which was located right on the Suez Canal.
"On the way there, the unit's regional security officer told me that at night a code word was heard on the radio, meaning that war was almost certainly going to break out. We arrived at the stronghold on Friday, October 5.
"We got the bunker at our disposal. There were reservists from the Jerusalem Brigade and several regulars. In total, there were 33 of us in this stronghold."
Did you realize anything out of the ordinary?
"Nope. Everything was really routine. The next day, the Sabbath when the war broke out, I went up to the observation tower of the stronghold and saw on the Egyptian side two soldiers with helmets, belts and weapons.
"The observer at the post claimed that it was very unusual, because usually the soldiers there walk around throwing like this, and that he reported it to the command post.
"I kept listening. At 13:15 P.M., I get a call from our deputy commander at a base in Sinai and he sounds nervous. He said: 'Fold everything! I'm sending N.N. to pick you up.' We were amazed. "What happened? Moving to another stronghold?' - he couldn't answer me.
"The vehicle arrived at the stronghold at 13:40 p.m. We had already managed to load him with equipment, and then at 13:50 P.M., hell began. Massive shelling. It was really completely insane."
His uncle Canaan during his military service,
A company of armored personnel carriers came upon us
Canaan did not have time to escape. "We flew into the bunker," he recounts. "Although I was not trained as a fighter, I immediately said to the commander of the stronghold: My men and I are now fighters in every respect. Give us any task we need.
"There was another dangerous thing I did, but necessary. I decided to get out of the bunker, ran between the shells and heavy bombardment of the stronghold to the car and took the recorded reels and the recording logs. I went back to the bunker and burned them."
It tells of a real danger to life. On the radio, they heard voices of soldiers from nearby strongholds shouting: "The Egyptians are getting on us."
"I gathered all the intelligence soldiers in the bunker and told them: If we are captured, our cover story is that we are staff sergeants who came from the barracks."
How did you feel? From a smart soldier, such a computer and wiretapping nerd, you were suddenly forced to be a fighter for all intents and purposes under heavy fire.
"You don't think, you're in the situation. I knew I had to join the fighting. We went through basic training and knew how to use personal weapons.
"I didn't have any devices, so I started working my ears too. I heard a convoy of heavy trucks and tanks, as well as Egyptian soldiers shouting and directing the vehicles and then crossing the canal in our direction. I reported it.
"The unit said afterwards that I was the only one who managed without listening devices to hear and report what was happening on the other side."
"I gathered the intelligence soldiers in the bunker and said: If we are taken prisoner, the cover story is that we are employees of Sgt. from Ziffin."
How close were the Egyptians?
"Really close. They walked and advanced towards us. We were in positions and during heavy shelling we flew to bunkers, which were being destroyed. Several times shells literally missed us by inches. We moved to a war room bunker, where we also ran out of air and felt really suffocated.
"In one of the incidents, an Egyptian armored personnel carrier company came up with us, and it was really scary. What we did was shoot all of us together with our personal weapons, plus mag fire from the positions. It made a lot of dust and noise, and the Egyptians mistakenly thought we were a great force and retreated. Miracles happened to us all the time. For four days, only two of us were injured. No one was killed.
"And I also had personal miracles. A bullet fired by an Egyptian sniper missed me by 30 centimeters! And another time I ran to the bunker with heavy shelling, and shells literally chased me. Miraculously, I was saved."
We knew we were next
These were the four turbulent days of the beginning of the war. Canaan passionately recounts and remembers every detail of what happened there, 50 years ago. "We heard that the Egyptians had actually ascended the stronghold from the north, and their terrible cries on the radio, 'Help us! Don't leave us!' It was truly shocking.
"On the third day of the fighting, the Egyptians came very close to the stronghold. After other strongholds had fallen and been conquered, we knew we were next. We sat in the center of the canal.
"The commander of the stronghold (the late Meir Wiesel, who received a citation for his conduct in the battles) held an emergency meeting and raised three options: either fight to the last bullet, or surrender, or try to get out of there. Everyone said: Get out. The commander got the approval of Arik Sharon, then commander of the 143rd Division, and we waited for the darkness of night. The Egyptians weren't really close to the stronghold at the time, so we left at <>:<> A.M."
"The commander of the stronghold held an emergency meeting and raised three options: fight to the last bullet, or surrender or try to get out of there."
But here the danger does not end, but quite the opposite. "The problem was that we were 15 kilometers away from our forces, and we had to march there. We walked and walked and accidentally entered a night camp of the Egyptian forces. From there, too, somehow, we miraculously emerged.
"We kept marching, and on the way we actually entered our armored battle against the Egyptians. We dug into the sands until we stopped hearing gunfire and battle. Our forces overcame the Egyptians there. We came out of our hiding place and suddenly shots were fired at us. Our forces mistakenly thought we were Egyptians because we came from their direction. We immediately picked up our rifles and Torah scrolls, and they realized that we were from our forces and moved on.
"In the end, one tank joined us and loaded it with 33 exhausted but alive soldiers. I don't know how we got so many soldiers on one tank, but it happened. On the way to safety, we were also assisted by armored personnel carriers and other forces, many of whom did not return from the battle and later died in the war."
No one knocked on the table
After the difficult and bloody war, the unit's name changed from 848 to 8200.
Yair Cohen (67), then from Kibbutz Ein HaHoresh and now living in Alfei Menashe, enlisted in the first class after the Kippur War. In the early 2000s, he served as commander of the unit.
"When you look at history, three things most influenced the Jewish people – the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel and the Yom Kippur War.
Yair Cohen. The trauma from the war accompanies Unit 8200 to this day and influences its moves, photo: from the private album
"Unit 848, or 8200 today, brought news before the war, including one gold bulletin that said there was going to be a war. But, and this is the main lesson of the war, no one knocked on the table and shouted: Friends, there is going to be a war!
"Therefore, the trauma of the unit from that war accompanies it to this day and influences its moves. The big lesson: accepting responsibility. Not only to bring information, but also to interpret it, and if the head of Military Intelligence does not receive - then warn and knock on every possible table. And that, unfortunately, didn't happen on Yom Kippur."
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