Givati Officers Recount Harrowing 44 Hours of Combat on October 7
Translated & summarized from Maariv by baba
Reserve officers Lt. Col. (Res.) A and Capt. (Res.) N described their harrowing 44-hour combat experience in the Gaza border region on October 7, stating it was far more brutal than depicted in "Fauda." They recounted receiving desperate calls for help, heading into battle with minimal equipment, and engaging terrorists in intense fighting in areas like the Nova music festival site and Kfar Aza. The officers expressed a belief that they would not survive the ordeal, highlighting the extreme conditions and close-quarters combat they endured.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Reserve officers described their October 7 combat experience as harsher than the TV show "Fauda."
- Lt. Col. (Res.) A and Capt. (Res.) N recounted 44 hours of intense fighting in the Gaza border region.
- They faced ambushes and close-quarters combat, including at the Nova music festival and Kfar Aza.
- The officers described minimal supplies and a belief they would not survive the battles.
- They were involved in rescuing civilians and eliminating terrorists during the fighting.
Two reserve officers from the Givati Brigade, identified as Lt. Col. (Res.) A and Capt. (Res.) N, have shared their experiences of the intense 44 hours of fighting in the Gaza border region on October 7. They described the reality as far more brutal than depicted in the new season of the TV show "Fauda," calling the show "much more polished and softer than the reality we were exposed to."
Lt. Col. A, who was serving as the brigade's combat commander in reserves, was in Jerusalem when the attacks began. He received a desperate call from a fellow reservist in the south who reported being in a firefight with terrorists. Meanwhile, Capt. N, in Netanya, was alerted to the infiltrations and received a frantic call from his sister-in-law, who was at the Nova music festival and under fire. He immediately set out south with only a pistol and civilian clothes, aiming to rescue her.
Upon reaching the area, Lt. Col. A was directed to Shde Teiman and then joined the deputy brigade commander. He described heading into battle without a vest, helmet, or uniform, eventually finding a journalist's helmet in Sderot. The deputy brigade commander's jeep, carrying seven soldiers, included three who were searching for relatives at the Nova party. The group organized to sweep the area, narrowly avoiding an ambush by approximately 20 Nukhba terrorists by taking a different turn.
They reached the Nova site by 2:45 PM and then received orders to proceed to Kfar Aza. After another sweep, attempting to locate friends' family members with no success, they were urged to move on. Later, they learned that one of their comrades' brothers had been killed near a burning ambulance. The two women they were trying to find were rescued.
In Kfar Aza, the officers and their unit engaged in fierce combat for 44 hours with minimal supplies, surviving on energy drinks and orange juice. Capt. N recounted a close-quarters battle where they eliminated a terrorist and rescued a family with children. Lt. Col. A described a feeling of resignation during the night between Saturday and Sunday, with reports of an impending attack from a tunnel. He stated, "It was clear to me and to others that we would not leave Kfar Aza alive, that we would fight until the end." Capt. N echoed this sentiment, adding, "We didn't believe we would survive the battles in the kibbutz and emerge alive from that inferno."
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