Back in Gaza with the battalion that broke in first: "Love of the land is not enough, you also need responsibility for its fate"
Three years after the start of the ground maneuver in Gaza, a ynet reporter returns to the soldiers of Battalion 9 of the 401st Brigade, deployed between Khan Younis and Rafah and along the Yellow Line. The battalion commander, Lt. Col. R., speaks about defending the Gaza border communities and the price paid by the brigade: 58 soldiers fallen in Gaza and Lebanon.
Three years after the start of the ground maneuver in Gaza, reporter Yoav Keren and photographer Gadi Kablo return to the soldiers of Battalion 9 of the 401st Brigade, deployed between Khan Younis and Rafah, about eight kilometers from the border. The battalion holds the Morag Corridor, which separates the two cities, and along the Yellow Line marked with concrete blocks. The brigade was the first to break into the Strip at the start of the maneuver, and after two years of fighting moved to Lebanon and participated in the maneuver as part of "Sha'agat Ha'Ari" (The Lion's Roar). The battalion commander, Lt. Col. R., 34 years old from Rosh HaAyin, married to a career officer and father of two, took command in Ras al-Biyada about three months ago. According to him, the IDF presence deep in the territory is what allows the residents of the Gaza envelope to return to their homes and work the land. His sister recently moved to Kibbutz Magen. Capt. A., 25 years old from Rehovot, commander of the Lahev Company, was wounded by RPG shrapnel and returned to fighting after three weeks. The article notes that many residents of the Gaza envelope, especially in the hard-hit communities, are still evacuated and some will not return. According to the article, the Morag Corridor is empty of people and almost all its houses have been destroyed, and Rafah has also been devastated. The brigade lost 58 soldiers in the maneuvers in Gaza and Lebanon, including Col. Ahsan Daksa and Lt. Col. Dor Ben Shimon. At the Regavim outpost, flags hang with pictures of Sgt. Naharai Leizer and Sgt. Israel Natan Rosenfeld.