Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., February 22, 2009 Shvat 28, 5769 | | Israel Time: 10:38 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate Joy of Giving Travel Week's End Anglo File
Last update - 19:48 13/01/2009
Embedded with the IDF in Gaza / 'Let's finish what we started'
By Amos Harel
Tags: Gaza, IDF, Israel News, Hamas

NETZARIM RUINS, GAZA STRIP - Shortly after 5:30 P.M., the Netzarim sector comes to life. Mortar fire opens from the west, aimed at a special engineering unit force ensconced in a Palestinian house south of the road connecting the Karni roadblock and the Netzarim settlement ruins.

A soldier is lightly hurt. The commander detects a group of armed Palestinians, who apparently launched the mortars.


Advertisement
At the same time, the Armored 401st Brigade convoy leaves Gaza's coast toward Israel. Brigade commander Colonel Yigal Slovik, in a Merkava tank, also notices figures on a rooftop some 800 meters south of the road. They carry what looks like weapons. The houses in this neighborhood should be empty. A few days ago, the Israel Defense Forces airdropped leaflets calling on all residents to evacuate the houses close to the road. Later tanks shelled the neighborhood several times, driving the last residents out.

Slovik has no doubts. After dark, anyone found nearby a spot where fire was directed at the IDF is a legitimate target. He takes a few minutes to make sure no IDF soldier left the compound before giving the ok to open fire. In the first days of the fighting, four infantry soldiers were killed by "friendly" tank fire due to misunderstandings. The armored corps has learned its lesson and is being careful.

His crew members, young soldiers for whom this was one of the first confrontations, are excited. They swear at the machine gun that jams just at this moment. Machine gun fire and three shells directed at the rooftop and windows paralyze the Palestinians.

Later an observation force reports Palestinian ambulances rushing to the neighborhood to evacuate casualties. In the previous round, in Lebanon, the brigade commanders were blasted for being "stuck with their plasma TVs," far behind the troops.

For Slovik this is the second confrontation in two days. He says he is not searching them out, "but it doesn't hurt to have a tank commander with 22 years' experience."

The IDF has been in control of the Karni-Netzarim road for a week, from the fence to the beach, cutting the Gaza Strip in two. Slovik's troops - armored, Givati and engineering - seized a relatively wide corridor and set up improvized outposts behind sand banks for their tanks, armored personnel carriers (APC) and bulldozers.

From here the troops embark on nightly raids. The main pressure is directed at Gaza's southern neighborhoods. The main mission, in addition to besieging Hamas' main force in Gaza City, is to prevent reinforcements to move from the south of the Strip to the north.

In the eight days since Lt. Col. Yehuda Cohen, commander of the Givati Brigade's Rotem Regiment, whose men are situated in houses on the outskirts of Gaza City, entered the Gaza Strip, he lost his voice - "a little because of the temperature changes and a little from shouting at the soldiers to put their helmets on."

His sector is considered relatively quiet compared to the fighting experienced by the Golani Brigade in the east of Gaza City or the paratroopers north of it. Nor have any of his soldiers been injured. But they have managed to foil several Hamas attacks.

In one instance, regiment troops ran into three militants emerging from a tunnel. "We reacted straight away and toppled the tunnel on them. Nobody was hurt from sniper fire. There was also a suicide bomber on a motorbike who disappeared into a yard. We surrounded the house and hit him from afar," Cohen says. The house his men are staying in is partly destroyed - a result of tank shells and anti-tank missiles fired before they took it over.

Like most Givati commanders, Cohen does not suffer from traumatic experiences dating back to the Second Lebanon War. The regiment joined only during the last days of the fighting. Givati soldiers can compare the current operation to the prolonged fighting in the Strip during the second intifada. Cohen himself served as company commander in the first years of the confrontation. Today's IDF is "much more professional and focused," he says. "Nobody on the other side can stop it. I can go from here to Rafah, if that's what they tell me to do."

The biggest difference is that, "Today I can react in a 'fair fight.' I'm not fighting with my hands tied and staying behind the fence. They [Hamas] understood that very quickly and withdrew."

He has no qualms about using massive force - which becomes evident when looking at the destroyed Palestinian houses along the road. "We've seen booby-trapped houses, or houses that were closed down with the gas pipe left open, so they would explode on us when we entered.

"There's a school here," he says, pointing south. "We've seen them launch rockets and shells from it. When we entered the school itself, we found an arsenal of materiel."

Cohen says the IDF does not target civilians deliberately. The soldiers' orders are clear. "We let the civilians leave and made sure they were not hurt," he says.

Givati and armored corps' regular soldiers and the reservists that joined them Monday all sound as though they were reading from the same page. The IDF spokesman is not trying to dictate to them what to say. For now at least, no voice strays from the consensus. The army considers the fighting in Gaza to be the second round of the Lebanon campaign and so far has succeeded where it failed in the first round.

Tomer, a Givati squad commander from Ra'anana, says, "The parents are worried but we feel they stand behind their children. Everyone knows it's the right thing to do."

Gur Rosenblatt and Guy Ohaion, two infantry reserve offices, say this is a national mission. "It's a one-time opportunity to restore Israel's deterrence power," one of them says. Rosenblatt says his soldiers were trained and equipped for this mission better than any preparation they had received before. "We only hope they'll let us finish what we started," he says.

Cohen says that, "The moment we left for battle, we took the soldiers' mobile phones away." This was one of the lessons from the Second Lebanon War; but it also creates a boundary between the soldiers and the reality back home. As far as the soldiers are concerned, the political argument about continuing the operation is vague and not really relevant, says armored corps Lt. Col. Erez.

"We're concentrating on the mission at hand," says Cohen. "We haven't even received newspapers yet. Once we finish our assignment, we'll take an interest in what they're saying about it at the top."

Deputy Brigade Commander Lt. Col. Ronen Dagmi says, "When the army has clear boundaries and missions, it knows how to act. That is what is happening this time in Gaza."

His soldiers have not taken a shower for more than a week, but they're not complaining. "We have enough food, the conditions are fine and it's quite interesting here," says a tank commander on the Gaza coastal road. He is not worried in the slightest about the Gaza homes, located some 200 meters away from him. For the soldiers in the tanks this is a defensive war and an opportunity for action. They were still in elementary school when Yasser Arafat said the Israelis could go and "drink Gaza's water."

Related articles:
  • IDF begins deploying reservists into Gaza as part of ground op
  • IDF: Hamas rocket fire down 50% since start of Gaza op
  • ANALYSIS / Perhaps IDF should quit Gaza op while it's still ahead
  • IDF reservist refuses to fight in Gaza over civilian deaths
  • Peres: The IDF has never been better trained, as sophisticated
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    North under fire
    Hezbollah denies firing Katyusha into north Israel.
    Drama in Dubai
    Venus Williams hails 'brave' Peer after winning Dubai tourney.
      1.   Georgian tactis shell the neighborhood 02:28  |  John 13/01/09
      2.   Good! 02:41  |  Palestinian 13/01/09
      3.   Let`s finish what we started 02:53  |  Angel 13/01/09
      4.   If By "Succeeded" You Mean 02:54  |  Lee Kaplan 13/01/09
      5.   Ossetians and palestinians 02:56  |  fact check 13/01/09
      6.   one side blame 02:57  |  rules of war 13/01/09
      7.   "Good" 03:03  |  shmuel 13/01/09
      8.   SECOND PHASE OF LEBANON WAR 03:15  |  AL 13/01/09
      9.   Exactly #1 03:52  |  Joey 13/01/09
      10.   Two comments on Mr. Harel article 03:53  |  Refugee 13/01/09
      11.   We stand behind the IDF 04:13  |  Gili 13/01/09
      12.   #2 an illogical & flawed response 04:18  |  David Hartman 13/01/09
      13.   Palestinian #2 04:24  |  S 13/01/09
      14.   Gotta` love the new IDF of old 04:24  |  Raymond in DC 13/01/09
      15.   To #2 04:40  |  Bob 13/01/09
      16.   Palestinaian 04:47  |  Alfredo 13/01/09
      17.   Palestinian 04:56  |  Mark 13/01/09
      18.   Russian Jews of Boston wish IDF victory and save return home! 05:08  |  AlexK 13/01/09
      19.   Let the IDF finish the job 05:13  |  Rabbi Yakov Lazaros 13/01/09
      20.   32 Palesinian...then another good thing would be 05:19  |  Lynn 13/01/09
      21.   #2When your brethren launch QASSAMS and fire mortars on civilians 05:28  |  Vittorio 13/01/09
      22.   The Palastinians Will Be Liberated 05:32  |  RickD 13/01/09
      23.   Back when America had a Citizen Army 06:00  |  Mark Lincoln 13/01/09
      24.   Palestinian - don`t assume... 06:06  |  Orquest 13/01/09
      25.   Sure was John. Allegedly US/Israeli weapons were used by Georgia! 06:39  |  Maureen Ann 13/01/09
      26.   @ Palestinisan, U are very wrong 06:41  |  Massoud Le3vy 13/01/09
      27.   Fighting Fair 06:51  |  Mike F 13/01/09
      28.   Israel Has Lost World Support 06:52  |  Jerry 13/01/09
      29.   What is sad is Barak,Livni & Olmert won`t let them finish 06:55  |  Livin In Rishon 13/01/09
      30.   Maureens favorite word 07:14  |  *BEN JABO 13/01/09
      31.   #1 John - That`s exactly how Hamas fights 07:15  |  *BEN JABO 13/01/09
      32.   #3 Of course Israel doesn`t target civilians 07:27  |  Gee 13/01/09
      33.   if Israel is targeting civilians they`re doing a poor job 07:40  |  hmpierson 13/01/09
      34.   #2 Good - Palestinian 07:40  |  Robert 13/01/09
      35.   Finish what - the pit of animosity! Certainly not peace! 07:47  |  Ivar 13/01/09
      36.   Deterrence ? 07:53  |  War Critic 13/01/09
      37.   what if rabin was still alive 08:20  |  joe 13/01/09
      38.   IDF fires from Israeli civilian areas... 08:26  |  T 13/01/09
      39.   Targetting civilians 08:40  |  Natallie Durson 13/01/09
      40.   Ben Jabo likes "facts." Here`s a fact for you... 08:56  |  Maureen Ann 13/01/09
      41.   sad too 09:05  |  cool 13/01/09
      42.   Palestinian #2 09:14  |  S 13/01/09
      43.   finish what you`ve started 09:43  |  stop the killing 13/01/09
      44.   To Moderator = stop the bias and be fair 10:16  |  stop the killing 13/01/09
      45.   6000 missiles on Israeli civilians-- 10:28  |  maureen disgusting!! 13/01/09
      46.   philadelphi, rafah areas must be secured 10:55  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 13/01/09
      47.   Natallie Durson # 18 10:59  |  JAS 13/01/09
      48.   #18, Durson, civilians were not targeted 11:17  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 13/01/09
      49.   Civilians targets 11:34  |  Franny 13/01/09
      50.   ANOTHER FAILURE... 2006-2009!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMP.................. 11:47  |  DAVID 13/01/09
      51.   Maureen Ann 11:51  |  dovvod 13/01/09
      52.   Severe criticism from within Israel 12:42  |  Sylvie 13/01/09
      53.   False leaders of Pals 12:44  |  Yasser 13/01/09
      54.   imbed with idf 12:47  |  gordon kadatz 13/01/09
      55.   Natallie Durson # 18 Significant Perhaps But Not Clearly Excessiv 12:59  |  Jeff Northridge 13/01/09
      56.   Why are you posting here? 14:29  |  martin knopfman 13/01/09
      57.   To # 50 David 14:56  |  Bob 13/01/09
      58.   Gaza Was Lovely Under Israeli Rule - Now a Pit 15:48  |  smarten up people 13/01/09
      59.   Sense from Down Under (NZ) 15:58  |  ChanahS 13/01/09
      60.   Amos Harel doesn`t get it 18:09  |  Chris Linthwaite 13/01/09
      61.   You`re it, No, you`re it,, no, I aint cleaning this up! 18:16  |  rob 13/01/09
      62.   to number 44 18:41  |  tim 13/01/09
      63.   end 18:43  |  azad 13/01/09
      64.   #39 Correction for Natalie Durson 19:01  |  WYSIWYG 13/01/09
      65.   To: Natallie Durson 19:09  |  Angel 13/01/09
      66.   stop the killing - Canada SIX THOUSAND ROCKETS 19:10  |  *BEN JABO 13/01/09
      67.   #49 Franny 19:14  |  *BEN JABO 13/01/09
      68.   Correction to Headline: You mean `Finish what THEY started` 19:15  |  An Israeli 13/01/09
      69.   The logic of war 19:32  |  Matt 13/01/09
      70.   At least 19:52  |  Tim 13/01/09
      71.   #2 Palestinian 20:27  |  Greg 13/01/09
      72.   Jerry #28 20:41  |  hollingsworth 13/01/09
      73.   Finish the job 20:48  |  KS 13/01/09
      74.   T - I hope the shelters are finished soon 23:26  |  Mark Lincoln 13/01/09
      75.   I am not in favour of this war - but now finish Hamas 00:46  |  Markus Grafenburg 14/01/09
      76.   To #69, Matt 00:59  |  ruiz 14/01/09
      77.   Please open your eyes Mr Hartman 01:35  |  Paletinian 14/01/09
      78.   #66 *BEN JABO - "SPIN" THIS... 01:55  |  PADDY 14/01/09
      79.   Durson #39 04:32  |  leo 14/01/09
      80.   Screaming cowards and self-praising bravado 05:24  |  allang 14/01/09
      81.   Dig a channel 07:24  |  Jasper 14/01/09
      82.   What did Hamas do for the Palestinians? 08:13  |  Zev 14/01/09
      83.   More wars 09:08  |  Paul 14/01/09
      84.   voice for justice 09:11  |  Wog 14/01/09
      85.   Paul`s question 09:59  |  SDHD 14/01/09
      86.   To War Critic #36 14:43  |  CDG 14/01/09
      87.   PADDY - HAMAS DOESN`T HAVE TO 17:17  |  *BEN JABO 15/01/09
      88.   children 09:16  |  darya 22/02/09
     Read & React
    Ex-spymaster: First Lebanon War was a Mossad success
    Responses: 6
    Durban II drafts: Israel is racist, occupying state
    Responses: 92
    France to send top envoy to Iran for nuclear talks
    Responses: 18
    Gideon Levy: We have sacrificed Shalit for our national pride
    Responses: 4
    Yossi Sarid: Kadima-Likud union is only a matter of time
    Send response


    More Headlines
    10:31 Sources: Netanyahu to offer Livni 'full partnership' in government
    09:39 Qassam rocket strikes western Negev, no casualties or damages caused
    07:53 Yossi Sarid / Kadima-Likud union is only a matter of time
    07:59 France to send top envoy to Iran for nuclear talks
    10:09 Will 'Waltz with Bashir' take home the Oscar Sunday?
    10:35 Amira Hass / Gazans fear Fatah-Hamas split could sabotage Gaza reconstruction
    08:48 Ex-spymaster: First Lebanon War was Mossad success, despite Sabra and Chatila
    10:31 Fifteen lightly wounded in bus accident that shuts down Tel Aviv-Jerusalem highway
    08:20 German politicians, Jewish leaders slam Schroeder for meeting Ahmadinejad
    06:37 The racist's best friend
    04:28 Dutch Jews slam Christian 'peace by conversion' group
    21:56 Arab states to probe Gaza war crimes allegations
    19:28 Durban II drafts: Israel is racist, occupying state
    22:47 Senator Kerry: Syria willing to help achieve Palestinian unity
    16:02 Hezbollah denies firing Katyusha into north Israel
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Spring Specials-Dan Hotels
    Jerusalem from 179$. Tel-Aviv from 223$. Herzliya from 336$
    Dead Sea Skin Care
    Quality cosmetics from the Dead Sea. Coupon code HAARETZ for 12% off!
    Summer in Israel
    Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
    Passover Vacations
    The BEST Passover Vacations around ? Mexico, Arizona and Florida
    Camp Kimama Israel 2009
    The best place for your children this summer
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | | Israel 2009 election results
    Site rules | Makom: Engaging on Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved