Yesterday, in the late morning, there was a difficult battle in one of the villages in the western sector in Lebanon. The exact details of the battle have not yet been published, but from the picture that can be assembled so far, it seems that a platoon in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion had entered a developed Hezbollah ambush on the outskirts of the built-up area, which included shooting at close range, as well as firing anti-tank missiles. The ambush turned into a battle, and despite the initial severe injuries, Golani fighters managed to defeat the terrorists and eliminate Hezbollah operatives in the area – at least 4 terrorists. According to estimates, the lurking terrorists managed to evade the artillery and air softening that preceded the ground movement, by hiding in a shaft or tunnel about which the IDF did not know.
The price paid by IDF soldiers was harsh – with no less than 6 dead, whose names were gradually published in the evening. And these are their names: Captain Itay Markovich, 22, of Kochav Yair, who served as the platoon commander; Sgt. Dror Chen, 20, of Gan Haim, who served as the platoon’s sergeant; Sgt. Sraya Elbuim, 21, of Mehula, who served as a squad commander in force; Sergeant Shalev Sagron, 21, of Sderot, who was evicted from his home for most of the war; Staff Sergeant Nir Gopper, 20, of Dimona, who was an expert in computers but chose to go to a combat service; and Sgt. Yoav Daniel, 19, of Nahariya, who was no less than Israel’s MMA champion – mixed martial arts. So many names, of charming and potential young men, picked in their early years, for the great goal of Israel’s security in its land.
President Herzog eulogized the fallen of the Golani Brigade: “Along with all of the people of Israel, I received with deep pain and sorrow the news of the fall of six Golani fighters, the heroes of Israel, who fell for defending the homeland in battle against Hezbollah… They fight for us with courage, strength and devotion and for the protection of the people and the land. Each and every one of them is a whole world, and behind every name is a family whose world has been destroyed. I embrace the grieving families together with all the bereaved families from the hard and difficult campaign, and pray for the speedy recovery of all the wounded in the war, in body and soul.”
