This morning, the State of Israel received some particularly bitter news: 21 reserve soldiers, all of them from the 261st Brigade, which is under reserve duty for the southern brigade of the Gaza Division (including reserve and Cadets battalions), were killed in a serious incident in the central Gaza Strip. This is one of the most challenging events that have taken place since the start of the ground maneuver in the Gaza Strip, at the end of last October.
The incident took place near the Israeli border, in the area of the Al-Mujazi refugee camp, where Division 36 was maneuvering until last week. The reserve battalions engaged in operations in order to create the new wide buffer zone between Israel and the Gaza Strip, in which they were detonating nearby houses by explosives. 2 terrorists who approached the force fired light RPG anti-tank missiles at them, and one of the missiles hit a house where many fighters were taking cover along with the explosives, which were immediately activated and destroyed the house on its occupants. At least 21 soldiers were killed and at least 7 wounded. “The war has a very painful price,” Said Brigadier General Daniel Hagari, the milatry spokesman. “The fallen have sacrificed what is most precious to them for the sake of Israel’s security, so that we can all live in security.”
President Herzog also addressed the incident: “It is a difficult and unbearable morning, in which more and more names of our sons and boys – the ‘silver platter’ in the full sense of the word – are added to the heroic situation, in a war that is Just… With pride – for the heroism of the generation, the mission against the evil, the devotion to the goal and the love of the people and the homeland. On behalf of the entire nation, I comfort the families and pray for the healing of the wounded. Even in this sad and difficult morning we are strong, and remember that together we will win.” Herzog addressed the well-known poem by Natan Alterman, written in 1947, but still resonates powerfully today:
“Ask the nation, who is full of tears and magic.
And she said: Who are you? And The two are quiet,
And Answer her: We’re the silver platter
On whom the Jewish state was given to you.”
Indeed, a long and lengthy look at the list of the ten names that have been released so far reveals a deeper story of heroism and Israeli unity. The fallen soldiers of the reserve battalion are completely diverse. The Ages, between 22 and 37. Some of them have just been released and have probably given up on a post-army world trip, and some have left behind a wife, children and a job. The names of the fallen reflect a mosaic of orgins and grouping cultures. And their diverse places of residence – Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Kiryat Arba, Pardes Hana, Alon Shvut, Ramat Gan, Mevo Betar, and more – reflect that the fighters came from all corners of the country, to a joint war effort. Together, they fought shoulder to shoulder for months, and together they all fell; in their deaths, they commanded us heroism, Israeli unity, And life. May we all overcome the great pain together, until victory.
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