The staging area of the 46th Armored Battalion was bustling with activity in the late afternoon of Thursday. Moments after a mortar attack, some fighters were busy replacing pins in the caterpillar of one of the tanks, others checking the weapons, and a third crew took a turn with the tank after finishing treatment to make sure everything was in order.
Amazing documentation from the helmet of fighters of Shayetet 13's takeover of the Sufa outpost // IDF Spokesperson
Armored fighters who are located not far from the Gaza Strip are preparing intensively for the moment when they will be able to set out and defend the State of Israel. "Where the larvae will stand, that's where the border will stand," says the well-known saying. Armored personnel, reservists and regular fighters alike are determined to live up to this statement with full force. This time it's a war for home.
On one of the tanks, we gathered three reservists who form the backbone of command of Company A, the battalion's reserve company. Company Commander Major (res.) Golan Krieger; Staff Sergeant Capt. (res.) Matan Bruce; and one of the platoon commanders, Lieutenant (res.) Omer Cohen. Together they told the dramatic story of the company that traveled on caterpillars from the center of the country to the south in order to save the village of Gaza, and which is now preparing to enter the Gaza Strip.
"By Saturday at 10 a.m., we realized it was a grandiose incident, and I jumped the company. Two hours later, the entire company was already in the Nahshonim area and we started taking care of the tanks," Krieger says. At first, the IDF considered sending them to fight without the tanks, but later, when it became clear that the lethal armored vehicles were urgently needed, Krieger approached the brigade commander and suggested that he set off on caterpillars. "I asked him, 'Do you trust me?' and he said yes, and I replied, 'We'll meet in the morning in Gaza.'"
Tanks near the fence, photo: AP
IDF tank fire into the Gaza Strip, Photo: Getty Images
Fighters and tanks on the Gaza border, photo: Shmuel Buchris
At midnight, the fighters came out on caterpillars. "We brought a jeepee to drive in front and open the way for us," he explains. "The scene was surreal. We arrived in the Kiryat Malachi area and drove parallel to Route 6, stopping for a refreshment at the Dor Alon station. In the Kiryat Gat area, we ran out of land, so we got on Route 6."
From Florida to the IDF
At 12:<> noon, the tanks entered the village of Gaza, where terrorists barricaded themselves and joined infantry and special units. "The infantry identified the terrorists, and our tanks fired a shell at the house of one of the families," Krieger continues. "It's a hallucination, but there are two terrorists among them, and in the house next to them we took out a woman who is nine months pregnant. In other homes, we took out elderly people, a family with three children, and more. We fought a battle between the playground and the synagogue, we fought over the kibbutz's dining room. It was surreal."
After completing the battle, they reached the assembly grounds and began preparing for a possible entry into the Gaza Strip. "I said goodbye to my wife and children in synagogue and left," Bruce says. "It's not easy, but after two or three days it connects to something big. Everyone understands that what happened here is not something ordinary, and that what is going to happen will be recorded in the history of the State of Israel. That's our job."
IDF soldiers in Sderot, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy in a statement: "Now is the time for war - Gaza will not look the same," Photo: IDF Spokesperson
IDF forces on the Gaza border. Many have been drafted into the reserves, Photo: Getty Images
For Cohen, this was his first round of reserve duty with the company, partly because he spent the past year with his new wife in the United States. When he heard that war had broken out in Israel, he did not hesitate for a moment. "At 22:30 p.m. U.S. time, I heard something had happened and realized I had to open the phone," he explains. I went back to my friends who had called and understood the situation. 20 minutes later we were already on our way to the airport in Florida. Within 30 hours of hearing what was happening, I was in the field."
"Want to be part of history"
The work is going on intensively, when suddenly an alarm sounds. "Hurry, to the tank!" orders Krieger, and we run to the tank nearby. For the first time in 17 years, I find myself in a tank in the battalion where I was in my regular service, and where I fought in the Second Lebanon War. I hurried to take pictures, but the photos were shelved due to classified means that are forbidden to take them.
When we leave, we meet with Lieutenant Benzi Lunar. He is a career officer, a platoon commander in Company B of the battalion. He began the war in his community of Bnei Netzarim, on the border with the Gaza Strip. "We were normal, and naturally I couldn't join my fighters in the north," he says. "Instead, I took up arms and joined our alert squad. I literally protected the house."
The next day he left via Route 16 and made the long journey to the assembly areas, since the standard route is dangerous due to the infiltration of the terrorists. Now he is preparing with his fighters to enter the Gaza Strip, which he left for the last time at the age of 5, as a resident of Netzarim.
"Emotions are mixed, because just a moment ago I was physically fighting for my house," he reveals. "At the same time, now it's time to fulfill the role I was born for and trained for. To enter Gaza, to save the State of Israel, to be part of the history of our country. We do everything to be as prepared as possible. We are all waiting for the moment when we will enter to defend the country. Let these terrorists pay the price, let them know that it is forbidden to mess with Israel. This is not another round or a dangerous campaign, this is not an entry into destroying tunnels, but a war that will end with the destruction of Hamas."
This time it will end differently
The fighters are not satisfied only with preparation. The reservists took advantage of connections and brought containers of a large international company to practice combat in open terrain. Bulldozers level the area. Armored, Givati and engineering fighters are preparing intensively for the moment when they enter Gaza, doing everything possible to be prepared.
Between sirens and explosions, between rocket fire and interception, they stretch caterpillars, grease weapons and learn maps. Everything is ready for the war that has been forced upon us. Imbued with purpose, they do everything to be prepared to fight the viper nest that has murdered hundreds and hundreds. Never again, they memorize to themselves. This time it will end differently.
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