Just after 71pm last Saturday, somewhere on the outskirts of Khan Yunis. a report on finding rockets in a house that Company C had finished searching; Carmi, the <>st battalion commander, jumps to the point. We arrive, locate additional weapons and intelligence materials, go out into the street from the house, and then fire opens at us. We enter behind cover and search for the source of the fire.
Terrorists near the Gaza Strip // Photo: Philip Leptunov
G.'s force identifies the house with the terrorist. The battalion commander conducts the fighting with inspiring coolness, advancing two tanks towards the house that fire a precision shell at the target. Our battle king, the D-9 arrives and clears the near space to make sure there are no booby-trapped tunnel shafts. Only after that, Carmi gives the order to the fighters to enter. The threat was removed without casualties to our forces.
This is how it should work: as slowly and safely as possible. This requires breathing space and time - the most sought-after commodities on the battlefield. There is no electricity in Khan Yunis and no running water, but these are not the things that will get in the way of attacking and destroying the enemy, whose cruelty we saw with our own eyes between the houses of the village of Gaza on October 7.
The second day of the attack on the Gaza Strip: the extent of the horror in the street is exposed // Photo: Shmuel Buchris
The point in time we are at is very challenging. We are in a war of a kind we have never known, in a densely built-up area with an entire underground city. Our sisters and brothers who are there in enemy hands, and the length of time we are not at home is very long.
The reservists are at the forefront of the fighting, and in order for their resilience to be maintained, Israeli society must be here for them fully and clearly. It's in your hands, which now reads "Israel Hayom" in a café; It's in your hands, who is now reading the newspaper in your living room. We need you with us, and like everything in the IDF, we will divide it into three missions.
A hug to the family
The first task is to hug the family that remains on the home front while we have been mobilized in Order Eight for almost 80 days, and our return to normal is not yet in sight.
Reservists gathering area, photo: Shmuel Buchris
In the first month of the war, all of Israel was at the front, in the second month routine began to slowly return, and now the country is in full routine – and that's a good thing. The cafes are full, customers have returned to the stores, and that's great, that's how terror is defeated. But the spouse of the reservist was left alone, with all the day-to-day tasks of home and work. It could be your neighbor, sister, or co-worker.
She deserves to be saluted, to help her with the children whose father is still in the reserves, and they ask Mom every day, "When is Daddy coming back?" and "Who is taking us to school today?" You can also just knock on the door with a cake for Shabbat and say, "Thank you, thank you for paying a price for all of us."
The second task is the backup at work. It's true that no one can fire a reservist when he returns from the war, that's the law and that's fine, but it's really not enough. The reservists at the front stopped their lives completely. They are risking their lives even at this moment for the people of Israel, and the last thing they deserve is to receive a half-reprimand from their boss for the fact that the rest of the guys have already been released from reserve duty and returned to work - and only you, the sucker, remain at the front. It's not legitimate.
The results of an attack in Beit Hanoun, this week, photo: AP
And one more thing from us to the dear employer: we understand that the business must continue to work, and you have brought in a substitute reservist. But please promise that it will not be at his expense, tell him that he is a hero and that his role is reserved for the day he returns.
We're all here, shoulder to shoulder
And a final mission, simple but no less significant: in Beit Hanoun and Khan Yunis, on the Lebanese border and in the West Bank, we are fighting together shoulder to shoulder. There is all the wide and beautiful diversity we have in Israeli society. Everyone is here. On October 7, we all remembered that we are one people, one family. At the moment of truth, all the nagging disputes evaporated. We united and leapt into battle together to defend our country.
The discourse was also like this, unifying and reinforcing. Let's keep this togetherness until we end the war and return home safely. The discourse on social networks influences the spirit, civic resilience and adherence to our cause. It is in our hands, to see well, to find the positive points of light and to be focused on our pride in this nation and its fighters.
On behalf of all of us, thank you.
The discourse on social networks influences the spirit, civic resilience and adherence to our cause. Let's keep together until we end the war.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us