"What do we kill for?"
- This question was raised by Moshe Dayan after a successful battle in the Yom Kippur War during which, in one night, the 14th Brigade lost about 120 of its soldiers.
He stated that "steps must be taken and a red line established to prevent erosion".
IDF commanders at the scene of the disaster in the southern Gaza Strip // IDF spokesman
This time these doubts do not arise following the serious operational failure that killed 21 fighters during preparations for the explosion of a building, not far from the Gaza border and Kibbutz Kissufim.
In the first and second Lebanon wars there were battles with many casualties, which accelerated the desire to end the campaign.
In the first Lebanon these were the Tire disasters, the first and the second, which occurred about a year apart, in the first disaster 91 soldiers, MGB policemen, civilian teams and Lebanese detainees were killed; and in the second 59. The disasters increased doubts about the war that was sometimes called a "war of choice", and added motivation to withdraw from Lebanon. But even in the staggered withdrawal in 1985, there was a security strip across the border. In the last two days of the Second Lebanon War, the famous Saluki battle was fought on the way to Litani, and 33 were killed in total in that controversial move.
A major air force attack near the Saluki River in southern Lebanon (archive), photo: Arab Networks
It is impossible not to compare the spirit that prevailed in the public and the fighters in '73 and the years of the Lebanon War, certainly in the second war, with the fighting spirit of today.
In those wars of desire to return home and break contact hovering in the air.
Every operational failure and every disaster with many casualties only accelerated the process.
This was also the case during the twilight period between the announcement of the disengagement plan and its execution in the summer of 2005.
Two operational disasters that shocked the public and the IDF took place in the same Gaza strip in 2004. The first was at the beginning, when 11 fighters were killed after two APCs loaded onto cargo in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza and Rafah.
The second was when a tunnel blew up under the outpost on the Philadelphia axis, and there were also many casualties.
The logic of the public debate was the opposite: the supporters of the unilateral withdrawal received a boost, without thinking about what would happen to the border settlements.
The desire to return home and cut contact hung in the air.
The settlers' struggle in the secession plan, May 2005, photo: Ziv Koren (archive)
The effect of the operational disaster this time is the opposite of the withdrawal spirit of parts of the public on the eve of disengagement.
Beyond the fact that it illustrates the need to destroy Hamas completely, it also teaches about a different spirit and a different generation.
It is not true that the pain is unbearable.
The pain is hard and deep, but not unbearably heavy, because the soldiers of the IDF and their civilian home front are ready to bite their lips and survive the battles to complete the objectives and achieve the final goal.
I don't think there has been a war in which the goal was so clear and understandable to all the combatants, and it doesn't matter which house or synagogue they come from.
It's a battle for life, it's a battle for the fate and future of the Negev.
All of this is happening close to home and not 200 km away. At the beginning of the ground operation nearly three months ago, the question of capability came up. The chain of operations proved that the IDF can and does work well, and has already reached a decision point against Hamas in certain respects.
The destruction in the surrounding settlements after the massacre by Hamas terrorists on October 7, photo: Hanan Greenwood
Now it's "do we want".
Since the enemy is not ordinary, "ordinary military decision" is not enough - the destruction of all military capabilities is necessary.
The death of the 21st reminds us of "Ziv the unknown and the lust for heroism and the holiness of the will and the devotion of the soul who perished in the heavy battle", as is said about the fallen of Tel Hai.
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