GRANDMA'S ARMY AT WAR - II

 


My youngest son, Yoni, has five sons, three of whom are triplets. Their oldest son is studying abroad, but the other four were all called up at the beginning of the war.

Ido functioned as a team commander in a Reserves corps whose role was to guard and navigate logistics for farmers in the settlements surrounding Gaza. Farmers, who returned to work in areas adjacent to the fence that were threatened, until recently, by terrorists. The corps were also guarding against terrorist infiltration in the area.

Aviad, the oldest of the triplets (by five minutes) wrote: “I have been serving until now in the Alexandroni Reserve’s brigade of the Golani regiment. On Simchat Torah we were sent up north to guard the border in case Hezbollah, like Hamas, would try to infiltrate into Israel. Our brigade was situated on a border kibbutz. We prepared ourselves, not only against infiltration but also against missile attacks. The settlements are in constant danger from anti-tank missiles that the Hezbollah would direct against the soldiers. After about six weeks, we were replaced by another brigade, and were transferred to Kiryat Shmona for training. The town was empty of residents. From there we were sent to the moshav of Avivim. The moshav is situated very close to the border, with many vulnerable spots open to Hezbollah missiles. Our main objective is to secure the settlement against infiltration from Hezbollah terrorists”.

Ohad served for five years in “Shaldag”.  This  is a special forces unit under the command of the Israeli Air Force, and is considered to be one of the most elite and toughest units in the IDF. It specializes in clandestine operations, combat search and rescue, commando style raids, irregular warfare, military intelligence operations, and special reconnaissance within enemy territory. Before his call-up papers arrived, Ohad had already rushed to his base. Since then he has been in Gaza in clandestine operations both above ground and underground. Their missions are classified and not known to the public.

Amitai, a platoon commander in the Armoured Battalion, wrote: “Immediately on October 7th, my Battalion was rushed to the Gaza periphery  where we fought the terrorists who had invaded Israel - until we had pushed them back from Israeli territory. After two months of defense in the Gaza periphery we joined the ground forces inside the Gaza Strip. We eliminated many terrorists and discovered a lot of intelligence material.  It is not an easy mission, especially for the Reserves Battalion who are married men with families. All the soldiers in the Battalion are happy to defend our country and to fight in the most justifiable war of all times.”  

We Jews, who are privileged to be living in Israel, have learned the hard way that life can be very unpredictable and never to be taken for granted.

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