We arrived on Friday morning, a few hours before the ceasefire. These are the most dangerous hours, when Hamas is only looking to harm IDF soldiers as much as possible, before the ceasefire goes into effect.
A few minutes before, a "Color Red" alert greets us in Bari. An easy run to the nearest shelter, where one of the reservists explains to me: "It's good that it was, this way you put in your head to guard yourself and be alert, because inside the strip you won't have a red color."
There are also such hours, photo: Avi Cohen
Elad, reservist, photo: Avi Cohen
Before departure - a short briefing. They explain to us what to watch out for and also emphasize that if there is an encounter not to jump out of the vehicle while driving, because they have already been hit by it, as they say - everything is written in blood. A few hours before a soldier was hit there by sniper fire, a reminder that terrorists are still infested with terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip.
Always alert, photo: Avi Cohen
"That's how you learn to be careful",
16 hours before the ceasefire, we joined the Jerusalem Brigade into Gaza, and met people who were willing to stay as long as needed and asked them not to be arrested before the work was finished. The Jerusalem Brigade - the 16th Brigade - is an infantry brigade that fought in all of Israel's wars, which began its activity towards the end of the War of Independence, based on Haganah, Irgun and Palmach fighters from the Jerusalem area. The brigade's main mission was to defend Jerusalem and the corridor leading to it, especially Mount Scopus and the municipal line – but over the years the purpose and composition of the forces changed, and despite the name that remained, there is no connection between the brigade and Jerusalem.
"You felt that the army was coming and giving people a lot of security."
The Humvee convoy is underway. Tal, the driver, a resident of Petah Tikva, explains that on the left we will soon see Bari's houses that were hit first by the terrorists. "It's important to see, so we know what we're fighting for," says Lieutenant Segev, who sits alert with a bullet in the barrel. During his military service, there was "Nahlawi", who returned from a big trip to South America, and planned to start studying in November - but then Black Sabbath came and shuffled the cards: "I came back from a trip after the army and planned to start studying, and then it came. Will we stay here as long as necessary – a month? Month! Year? Year! Until we finish the job."
16 hours before the ceasefire, we joined the Jerusalem Brigade into Gaza, and met people who were willing to stay as long as needed and asked them not to be arrested before the work was done
After driving, we reached the brigade fighters who were near an almost completely destroyed neighborhood. We met Lt. Col. Omri, commander of Battalion 9207 in the Jerusalem Brigade. Omri works in the State Prosecutor's Office, and on the bloody Saturday he enlisted with his friends – first to communities in the Sderot sector, then to a defense mission in the Zikim coastal area, and for more than two weeks they have been inside Gaza. Omar, a married father of two, has only come home for 24 hours since he enlisted. In his battalion, hundreds of soldiers reported within 24 hours. "Forces that were fighting left and we really came. We were still in the surrounding communities, when we opened the doors and people were still scared, so we understood where it was going. You felt that the army was coming and giving those people a lot of security, just like that, unequivocally," said Lt. Col. Omri.
Lt. Col. Omri - Battalion Commander 9207 Jerusalem Brigade, Photo: Avi Cohen
Lieutenant Segev, Photo: Avi Cohen
Elad – a 52-year-old father of eight from the Golan Heights, grandfather of eight and grandfather of two granddaughters – is an example of the soldiers' high motivation. He could have been released from active reserve duty many years ago, but he won't miss an opportunity to be with the guys: "I'm happy to be here, I'm part of the people of Israel, there's no question here at all. Without my wife's back, I couldn't do it, it's hard for her, but she knows I'm good. I'm also an educator in a pre-army preparatory school and tell my students to go, so can I not go?!"
"The enemy is hidden underground, trying to get us hurt in places where we will be weak."
We also met Lt. Col. Itai, battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion, an architect by profession, who lives in the Golan Heights. That Saturday morning, he rode his bike with his son and left as soon as he heard what was happening in the south. He left behind a wife and a one-and-a-half-month-old baby at home, and hardly met her since. "I set off as soon as the brigade commander contacted me. I went around one o'clock in the afternoon to other operations centers to sign equipment and meet the other soldiers. On Sunday morning, we were on defensive missions until we moved on to offensive missions. The enemy is hidden from view, hardly recognizable. It's hidden underground. In the end, what he's trying to do is get us hurt in places where we'll be weak, and so he's acting mostly cowardly and not out of some heroism and trying to get something specific. Go back to the burrow and wait until the next force comes and then try to do it over and over again."
Lt. Col. Itai - Jerusalem Brigade Battalion Commander, Photo: Avi Cohen
He clarifies: "Even in a ceasefire, we remain at a high level of vigilance, and even more. As soon as we enter into a ceasefire, we remember the events of Operation Protective Edge and previous ceasefires, and therefore our level of vigilance increases – albeit under ceasefire restrictions, but at a higher level of preparedness and in the face of what we are able to carry out."
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