Lt. Col. (res.) A. was on call when the infiltration by the Hamas terror organization began. Minutes after the rocket barrage that followed, A., a pilot, was already on his way to the south and was the first to arrive at the scene.
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In a special interview with Israel Hayom, he recalls the sea of terrorists he saw that had crossed into Israel, the decision to use munition within Israeli territory, and the shoulder-fired missiles that the terrorists had brought to shoot the first IDF helicopters that would arrive.
"On Saturday morning, I was on call at an air force base. I was preparing for a weekend of rest after doing the Israel National Trail with my son," A., a 46-year-old who works in high-tech and lives in central Israel, said.
"Around 6:30, I woke up after receiving notifications on my phone from the media about the rockets. I said to myself it was strange that the IDF hadn't told me yet to scramble, and moments later, they did."
Within minutes, A. and a second helicopter were on their way to the south.
Video: PM says Israel is at war / Credit:Twitter/@Israelipm
"On the way, I was told that there was an incident in Zikim, fear of infiltration. By then, I already understood that this was not a normal event, because there had also been missiles. When I got closer to Ashdod, they told me that there was an incident in Be'eri.
"Ten minutes later, I already found myself launching a missile near a Re'im base directed by a soldier from the division at what he thought was a terrorist. I am experienced enough to talk to ground forces, investigate, and get a picture of the situation so as not to harm civilians.
"First of all, I shot to disrupt, because the soldier couldn't guarantee that what he saw were only terrorists. I was worried that it might be a civilian running to the side of the road and hiding. I asked the soldier if he was sure these weren't civilians, and he told me he wasn't. In order not to kill civilians who were fleeing, I fired to the side, and I knew that I would understand based on their behavior whether they were terrorists or civilians. When I isolated the people and realized that they were terrorists, I started shooting on purpose, to kill."
"At the border fence, I saw that it had been breached, and rivers of people were flowing into the country. It seemed unfathomable. First, you think, What is this? Where are they coming from? In such quantities! They came in cars and bulldozers. Our weapon is a hellfire missile. I needed to choose where to hit best. I fire until the armament runs out, pretty quickly, within an hour. We flew to a nearby base to arm ourselves again, and shortly after, I was in the battle zone again. By 07:45, I told myself that we were in a war."
When asked about the complaints by the residents of the south that help from the IDF came shockingly late, A. replied, "We arrived very quickly in terms of the incident. The investigations will show the truth – how fast the response was. Obviously, when it comes to such swarms, it is much more complex."
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