Lt. Col. Elad Zandani, head of the Gaza Division's Home Front Branch, recounts the fighting in the village of Gaza where Sha'ar Hanegev Mayor Ofir Liebstein and his son and Yedioth Ahronoth photographer Roi Idan were murdered together with his partner Smadar. Also, his 3-year-old daughter is still kidnapped.
"All the civilians who fought here are the heroes": Head of the Gaza Division's Home Front Branch recreates the fighting in the village of Gaza // Ilya Yegorov
"I'm at home on Shabbat Chag, I realized there was an event. I arrived at the Shuva junction. I received a phone call from residents in the village of Gaza, hearing that there are terrorists shooting here. I don't have a full picture yet. I began to assemble the force that was with me: I, a policeman who was on a motorcycle and another civilian who had a weapon, arrive, in my opinion, among the first to reach the Gaza Strip in the relatively early hours of the morning."
Combat effort and assistance
"We already recognize the jeep of one of the civilians shot at the entrance and a Hamas pickup truck, look inside and see RPG as well, at that moment we are in a different event, not some terrorist infiltration that we know from the past. As I understand that there was an incident in the dining room, I get there and identify a number of wounded people and move forward following shots we hear."
The family home of the head of the Shaar Hanegev Council, photo: Ilya Yegorov
The village of Gaza where the head of the Sha'ar Hanegev council and his son and Yedioth Ahronoth photographer Roy Idan were murdered together with his partner, photo: Ilya Yegorov
"We ran after the shouts and shots, together with the squad members, these heroes, to the western part where we encountered terrorists. We strove for contact and fire, during one of the stages of the fighting, one of the squad members was wounded, received a bullet in the chest, the policeman brings him a bandage and treats him."
"We want to make sure that there won't be another kidnapper, God forbid, we're fighting a delay battle, at one point I even go up to the roof in one of the houses and conduct fire with the terrorists from there. This went on for several hours, until a cherry force arrived, we joined him and continued fighting until they pulled us back."
Lt. Col. Elad Zandani, Head of the Home Front Branch, Gaza Division, Photo: Ilya Yegorov
The destruction in the village of Gaza after the infiltration of the terrorists, photo: Ilya Yegorov
Zandani did not forget the kibbutz residents and the alert squads who fought shoulder to shoulder to guard the house, and expressed his appreciation: "The security coordinators in the communities, the alert squads, the security officers, the squad commanders, all the civilians who fought here are the supreme heroes. In the initial stage, they created the containment line, and many of them also saved entire communities in the entire envelope area."
He shared the great difficulty after many of his fellow kibbutz residents were murdered: "It's hard. I lost quite a few security coordinators here, whom I knew personally, the head of the council who lived here and I was a member of his household, Ofir Liebstein, as well as other members and squad commanders. I was a member of the kibbutz."
"We are in a different event, not some terrorist infiltration that we know from the past." Kfar Gaza, photo: Ilya Yegorov
"I received a call from residents in the village of Gaza, hearing that there are terrorists here." The destruction in the village of Gaza, photo: Ilya Yegorov
Zandani shared about the efforts to strengthen the home front. One of the efforts is to lead to functional continuity, Zandani explains: "Emphasis is placed on taking care of infrastructure, in the chicken coop farm - a dedicated compassion has been established just for that."
Another effort is helping farmers. "We want to preserve agriculture and save the farmland and protect the volunteers who, God forbid, nothing will happen to them in this current situation. We are now engaged day and night in rehabilitating the envelope. Everyone is mobilized together only to help and help, volunteers, the various government ministries and the Home Front Command, which shoulder to shoulder helps us."
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