At the beginning of the summer, Col. Omer Cohen was appointed commander of the commando brigade, which includes the IDF's elite units - Magellan, Agoz and Dovdevan.
A month later he went with Eitan to the "Home and Garden" operation in the narrow alleys of Jenin, he didn't have time to take off his helmet at the end - and already entered full force into the war of iron swords.
Since the fighting began on October 7, Colonel Cohen went home for 12 hours of rest, of which he slept six, and then hurried back to his soldiers. He missed the birthdays of his wife and three children, but promised that a compensation gift would bring them victory.
"I liberated an armored unit that fought with us," he says, "and in the closing conversation I told the soldiers, 'What will victory look like the day after - will rockets be fired from Gaza? Maybe. Will there be terrorists left? Maybe. Will another generation of murderers grow up? Almost certainly. But will Have we collapsed the operational system of Hamas? In the places where we fought - unequivocally, yes.'
IDF soldiers in Khan Yunis, photo: Yossi Zeliger
We met last week in Khan Yunis, just before he left with his police officer to visit the soldiers of Magellan's unit who were occupying an area of the crowded camp, and from there he promised that we would move on to the Nut fighters who were encroaching on a nearby compound. When he saw that we were wearing coats under our vests, he asked us to raid them. "Believe me that there is going to be Hot," he promised.
The method and the answer
The PAK moves on foot into the deserted alleys of the gloomy refugee camp. The dimensions of the destruction that you see there are hard to describe. There is not a house that does not have the marks of bullets and shells. who remained to go down west, towards the sea, to protect their lives.
We entered the main street, and one of the soldiers hurried to throw a smoke grenade so that Hamas snipers would not hit us while moving.
In a short time we reached Major G, the commander of a platoon in Magellan, who a few hours before had eliminated with his soldiers a squad of three terrorists, whose bodies were still lying a few meters from us.
"Excellent raiding units that specialize in fighting in built-up areas."
Cherry fighters, photo: Yossi Zeliger
In the video taken from the "Go Pro" camera that was on the body of one of the terrorists, they were seen hiding in a small alley and sending an innocent-looking person to the main street to see if there were any soldiers around, and when he signaled that the area was clear, they came out with an RPG, which was rolling inside A carpet as a hideout.
Col. Cohen explains the method: "They act like civilians, and when they recognize you, they enter one of the houses, arm themselves, shoot, throw away the weapon and continue as if nothing happened.
If intelligence wise I know about their preparation points, and smart observations identify them ahead of time, we know how to wait for them and strike."
Major G says that his soldiers have killed about ten terrorists since the morning hours, and the brigadier general is proud to report that the young commander returned to them after being wounded by grenade fragments, which are still located inside his body.
"I have 70 soldiers here that I have to command, they get injured and come back," explains the commander modestly.
"Our unit lost members, and they and the bereaved families push us, want us to continue for them."
"good competition"
We just left, and received a report about a dog from the unit that was killed and about an encounter with a terrorist in a house next to the mosque, which we passed by a few moments ago.
The Brigadier General asks the CPC to urgently return to headquarters to coordinate an attack with the assistance of the Air Force.
"A somewhat complex event," he explains.
"Proud of my life".
Col. Cohen, photo: Yossi Zeliger
After a quarter of an hour, Colonel Cohen comes out of the HML with a solution to the problem, and announces that we are headed to a meeting with the fighters of the Agoz unit, who just this week received back their commander, Lt. Col. M., who was seriously wounded on October 7. "There is good competition between the units of the brigade." He says while walking quickly, "Therefore part of the task of the commando commander is to preserve their uniqueness.
Every commander here is a lion and you have to let him flourish, and when you give boundaries, they do amazing things."
What is the difference between the units?
"They are all excellent raiding units that specialize in night fighting and fighting in built-up areas. They have a high firing capability in all types of anti-tank weapons, and each has a specific purpose.
A nut is a guerilla unit that knows how to hit the enemy in places he didn't expect.
Magellan is a collection, exposure and attack unit that knows how to identify an enemy from long ranges and destroy them.
Dovdevan is a leader in the field of fighting in built-up territory, and because of its vocation and challenges it returned to fight in Israel.
We arrived at the Agoz compound and there they presented us with a "Fagot" anti-armor missile, made in Russia, which was captured just now.
New missile, in packaging, ready to operate.
"Almost every house here is bombed," explains Colonel Cohen.
"After all, what was the life here before? Terror and more terror and hatred for the State of Israel. You find it behind every door. You ask what is an existential war? It is an enemy you cannot exist next to."
On the wall are birthday necklaces, on the bed is the spoils of a captured Amlach,
We entered the neighboring house through a door opened in one of the walls, so that the fighters would not pass through the main street and would not enter through a door that might be trapped.
It was the home of a Hamas operative, and besides the festive necklaces that were hung in honor of the birthday of one of the members of the house, there was also a map of the surrounding settlements hanging on the wall, and on the bed lay a variety of weapons.
"We are in the area of the Nazar Hospital," explains Major A., the AGM officer of Aguz.
"We found here a 60 mm mortar, a throw charge, improvised grenades and Kalashnikov ammunition.
In the last week, our unit killed about 80 terrorists in the camp compound, if not more, all of them were armed."
Oiled machine
Col. Cohen says that in the last week, thousands of residents moved south on the street where we marched, and hundreds of terrorists were arrested among them. Is it possible that hostages were also smuggled out of the crowd? We remember what happened more than a hundred days ago, and that gives us the strength to continue, no matter how long we will be here.
The dream of all of us is to return all the abductees home."
The commando brigadier remembers every moment since 7/10, from the moment he was jumped from his house until he reached the tunnel where the hostages were - and the determination only grew. "The planning of the evil is unfathomable," he emphasizes every word. "The construction of the cages, the mechanism they created with logistics and services.
You go inside after a fierce fight and see children's drawings and women's clothes, and it doesn't pass you by.
"These are Nazis plus, and we still always make sure to talk to the fighters about values. We are different, we don't need to align with evil, and the commando fighters know how to do the job properly."
We left Gaza late at night.
Col. Cohen was right, we didn't need a coat. The adrenaline and the fast running through the alleys provided a sufficient warm-up. We were there for one day, but he and his units have lost 32 fighters since the fighting began and continue to run like a well-oiled machine.
"I am proud of my soldiers to the skies," concludes the 41-year-old brigadier general. "There are many heroes here, comrades who were killed and wounded, and their story has yet to be told.
I am aware of the parents' concern, but first we have a mission.
We are determined, strong, want to win.
I, as far as I'm concerned, am just the matchmaker."
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