5 Heroic Stories of the Fighters in the Battle for the Gaza Envelope

War in the South. The IDF is releasing 5 more compelling stories from the battle for the Gaza periphery, where soldiers and officers strove for contact with complete composure and with great determination and courage, facing dozens of terrorists and leading to the liberation of the communities in the periphery.

Sergeant Major D (Res.), in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), a soldier in the counter-terrorism unit

With the start of the combat, Sergeant Major D. strove for contact and reached the settlement of Be'eri. When he arrived at the settlement, he saw a burning house in front of him. He approached the house to check if there were people inside and single-handedly rescued an elderly couple from the burning house, calming them down in the process.

Furthermore, Sergeant Major D., along with his unit and forces from Shayetet 13, encountered terrorists. During the engagement, Sergeant Major D. was hit by three bullets in his legs. Under fire, he performed self-artery tourniquets while his comrades held his legs. Simultaneously, he displayed great courage and continued to shoot and fight. At the end of the incident, he was evacuated to Soroka Hospital.

During the combat, his unit commander and other surrounding soldiers were killed, but Sergeant Major D. continued to fight.

Sergeant Major D (Res.), a soldier in the counter-terrorism unit (credit: IDF spokesperson)

Sergeant Major Y., a soldier in the Nachal Brigade Reconnaissance Unit

Sergeant Y. was at the Sufa outpost when terrorists attacked it.

After the platoon commander was killed in the engagement, Y. took command upon himself and led the confrontation with the terrorists. Along with three of his comrades, Y. managed to prevent approximately 20 terrorists from breaking through the main security barrier. After the terrorists succeeded in breaking through the rear security barrier, Y. served as a guide for combat helicopters that arrived to reinforce and assist in the battle, directing and coordinating the strengthening forces. Following the injury of Y.'s comrade Miri, Y. went to extract the wounded and also with the help of two more of his comrades evacuated the platoon commander who was killed near the position.

(Sergeant Major Y. was the same soldier who neutralized the terrorists in the event in which Staff Sergeant Bar Pelach, z"l, was killed, and he later received the Medal of Distinguished Service for his actions.)

Sergeant Major Y., a soldier in the Nachal Brigade Reconnaissance Unit (credit: IDF spokesperson)

Staff Sergeant A., a soldier in the Maglan unit

Staff Sergeant A., the platoon commander in the Maglan unit, arrived in Sderot at the moment he heard about the suspicion of terrorists. Immediately upon receiving the information, A. independently drove to the location.

On the way to the location, A. encountered a Border Guard (Magav) soldier and joined forces with him. When A. saw two girls who were hiding, he didn't think twice. He gave them the keys to his car and told them, "take it and drive away from here."

Staff Sergeant A. began conducting searches in the village of Yakhini, where he encountered terrorists. During the encounter, Y. neutralized two of the terrorists. A. was injured by a bullet in his hand and abdomen and is currently hospitalized in stable condition.

Lieutenant A., a team commander in the Egoz unit

Lieutenant A. spent the Shabbat in the Judea and Samaria area, during which unexpectedly, he was suddenly called at 6:30 AM on Saturday morning along with his team to the Gaza envelope region.

A. and his team went directly to the Kissufim base. When they arrived at the base, they realized that there were 15 terrorists who had captured intelligence officers in rooms and the operations room. A. understood that he and his team had to fight and regain control of the base, and the battle began. During a several-hour-long battle, they managed to seize the base, eliminate all the terrorists, and free the intelligence officers. Three of A.'s soldiers were killed during the battle, and he was injured by a bullet that passed from his shoulder to his abdomen.

Sergeant Major Haviv Tayeb, tactical headquarters, deputy commander of the 80th division

Sergeant Major Haviv Tayeb arrived along with the Deputy Commander of the 80th Brigade, the commander of the Eilat counter-terrorism unit, and three other fighters to Kibbutz Sufa on a Saturday morning while a battle with terrorists was taking place at the Sufa base. Haviv and the three Eilat counter-terrorism unit fighters were the only ones at Kibbutz Sufa, and for several hours, they repelled and fought terrorists at the kibbutz, armed with only light weapons.

HaviB and the team fought against dozens of terrorists and managed to repel them until additional reinforcements of the Eilat counter-terrorism unit fighters arrived.