Too Good To Be True
IDF Combat Engineering Corps: The Gaza Border is 100% Safe Now
Israeli engineering officers reassure Gaza border residents of their safety, highlighting ongoing tunnel clearance, IED removal, and extensive combat support operations despite recent deadly incidents.
An officer in the Israel Defense Forces’ engineering corps told Srugim News that residents of the Gaza border communities can feel secure despite recent hostilities, praising his unit’s professionalism and readiness following intensive operations in the enclave.
The comments came a day after a deadly incident in Gaza in which two Nahal soldiers were killed and four others, including members of the combat engineering force, were wounded. Srugim reporters visited engineering units to speak with commanders about their activities and received reassurances about force posture and civilian protection.
Participants in the briefing included Maj. Sahar, deputy commander of the 601 Engineering Battalion, and Oded, a company commander responsible for heavy engineering equipment in Battalion 681. The officers described routine missions to locate and neutralize tunnels and explosive threats, and to open and secure routes for maneuvering forces.
“You’re going through two very long and difficult years with a lot of activity,” the reporters told the commanders. “And just yesterday there was heavy equipment and fire directed at the force.” Oded replied that the unit’s main tasks include operating bulldozers and other engineering machines, opening and securing lanes, and enabling maneuver and protection for combat units. “Essentially we allow movement and act first, whether that means destroying devices found during operations or supporting forces under fire,” he said.
On the question of local safety, one senior engineering officer told Srugim bluntly: “Unequivocally, I would raise my family in this area.” On the tunnel threat, he added: “The tunnel system will not remain as it was before.”
The officers emphasized the technical and operational challenges of tunnel clearance and improvised explosive device (IED) removal, and stressed ongoing coordination with other combat units. They also highlighted the psychological and physical strain on troops who carry out continuous clearance and counter-tunnel missions.
Military spokesmen declined to comment beyond confirming that engineering units remain actively engaged in route preparation, tunnel demolition and force protection tasks across the Gaza envelope.