A story of martial valor from Haaretz:
Senior commanders were killed in the first battles, soldiers arriving at kibbutzim were ambushed by Hamas and the IDF was totally surprised by the number of Hamas combatants. Those were some of the details that Brig. Gen. Dan Goldfus shared in a briefing with military reporters on Tuesday, the fourth day of Israel’s war with Hamas.
Goldfus commands one of the Israel Defense Forces reserve infantry divisions that has been engaging Hamas fighters since they infiltrated Israel through the Gaza border Saturday morning. “We’ve been hit hard,” he said, adding, “we’re now in the attack phase. Grim questions will come afterward, about how we functioned and our commitment to the State of Israel. You [the reporters] will tear us apart then, and rightly so.”
[…]
“No one had a sense of the big picture,” he says. “There were actual battles being waged inside the Gaza Division headquarters. I ran into the Giv’ati recon battalion chief and adopted him, took him with me. I’d come across people, give them a company and tell them – do your best. It was me and three or four of my men against dozens of Hamas fighters at every encounter.”
[…]
“Soldiers that were trying to get to the invaded kibbutzim came across Hamas ambushes”, said Goldfus. The numbers of Hamas fighters took the IDF soldiers by surprise, with 12 to 20 comprising each force. “It’s not one or two terrorists, it’s dozens and hundreds, we’re fighting under heavy fire, and I’m personally moving soldiers between communities.” Goldfus says that his division, normally subordinate to the IDF’s Central Command, lost about 30 of its soldiers, with around 150 more injured.
Join the Discussion