"It was like a movie, far beyond imagination, something from fantasy worlds. A Fauda-style rescue." This is how Staff Sergeant Eliav, an intelligence officer in the Kfir Brigade, described the brigade's role in the deception operation that preceded the heroic rescue of the four captives from the heart of the Gaza Strip. "Our brigade was the gateway to the attack, we were the strategy. Our part was extremely complex," said the 30-year-old staff sergeant from Ramat Gan.
The rescue operation of the four hostages was kept under tight secrecy, and Eliav was one of the few who knew about it a week before it was carried out. The Kfir Brigade's task was to prepare the ground for the operation. "We set up sniper ambushes, eliminated enemies, fired for deception, conducted patrols, and prepared routes for vehicles to pass through. We eliminated enemies in a quality manner. We fired several times in different locations to create deception and other actions that cannot be elaborated on. We did everything the special forces asked of us. We worked in a surgical and challenging way while maneuvering and attacking. We carried out a ruse, which we had to hide from some of the commanders and fighters. It was a complex mission," he said.
"We did significant planning, from the first moment I understood the purpose. There was no moment like this during the past eight months when we were in Shijaiyah, Khan Yunis, Jenin, and the northern border. There was no mission with such a purpose. I was very excited. The mission greatly strengthened my 'why.' When you know that what you're doing can free hostages – it's indescribable. It's crazy. It was exciting and nerve-wracking, and a heavy responsibility. The combination of our forces and the special forces shoulder-to-shoulder managing it on the ground."
Video: The daring rescue / Courtesy
Unlike Eliav from the Kfir Brigade, the commander of the Paratroopers' Reconnaissance Company, Staff Sergeant Roee, 28, from Neriya, was not in on the details of the operation on the eve of the operation but received instructions to prepare during the operation itself. "We played a significant role in the rescue of the hostages," he shared last night. "We were responsible for evacuating the vehicles of the operational force, the hostages, and the special forces. We transferred them to the helicopter pickup point."
"We knew our role was to respond to any event that unfolded there, during the rescue itself and in response to it," Roee said. According to him, in the early morning hours, his fighters advanced to a point where they could intervene quickly in the operation and evacuate if necessary. When the vehicle with the captives was hit, Staff Sergeant Roee and his fighters received an order to quickly advance inward to isolate the area and assist in the evacuation. "We went in several vehicles with special forces and evacuation forces. When we received the order, we drove as fast as possible to the point. The fighters fired to isolate the area for the evacuation of the special forces."
"We understood that a vehicle was stuck and responded as quickly as possible to the area. I was in the second vehicle that arrived. When we entered, we heard combat taking place. Due to the secrecy, we didn't really know the area we were entering. There was massive fire around us, a lot of air force strikes, fighter jets, and drones, the likes of which I hadn't heard of throughout the months of fighting. They created a kind of ring of fire. But we reached the area of the stuck vehicle, saved it, took over a house, and isolated the area for them. The forces and the captives were disengaged, and a force from the brigade joined them and transferred them to a landing zone in another vehicle. We were the last ones to leave to make sure there were no injured forces. From the moment we received the 'proceed' order, it took only half an hour until we withdrew from there."
Staff Sergeant Roee understands the magnitude of the achievement and says emotionally: "We are after many months of fighting, injuries, and casualties to our forces. An event like this that ends with four people returning to their families – there is nothing more valuable, important, or joyful than that. It was an immense privilege to participate in this operation."
