Mission Brief: Dispatch #3

Called Up

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I want to tell you the story of K, a reserve soldier who is now on the front line with Gaza.

K is a friend who lives in Tel Aviv and has a high tech job.

He's married with two young children and has fought in every one of Israel's wars and operations since 2006. His unit fought and trained side by side for two decades. 

This isn’t just K’s story. It’s the story of over 300,000 reservists who have been called up into active service in Israel in the past 25 days. 

On October 7th he received what we call a Tzav 8, an emergency call up notice to call up reservist soldiers.

By the time he got the official call from his unit, K already had his uniform on. He had already kissed his kids and wife goodbye and was on his way to pick up a friend in the unit who lives nearby.

K knew he’d get called up the moment he woke up on October 7th and understood the scale of what was happening. Like every unit in Israel, K’s unit has a WhatsApp group, usually full of jokes and memes. But on October 7th the mood was different. The IDF called up hundreds of thousands of reservists in very little time but social media was faster. K, along with every single one of his friends in the unit had put on their uniform and headed to the base where they meet

An operation this size starts with having the equipment to do the job. Our logistics corps are unsung heroes in this operation. Typically, soldiers would register on base, gather equipment, and join the soldiers in mandatory service who live it every day. 

But for K and his friends the path is different. They first started training, getting ready for the mission to come. They cleaned their equipment, trained in dedicated urban warfare training compounds, reviewed intelligence, and practiced their missions over and over again. They largely trained in the north, away from the constant rocket fire from Gaza. 

In a matter of days, K and his unit went down south, to the Gaza border. This mission could take months. They don’t feel alone. They're overwhelmed with volunteers sending them food and home comforts. The army tries to send them home for 24 hour breaks to get out of the routine and to see their families. 

When you see our soldiers on the front line, remember that on October 6th they were having dinner with their children, talking about their week at work, planning for their kids next football game and worrying about paying their bills. 

Everything changed.

K, and hundreds of thousands like him, had no idea that after October 7th their lives would once again change so dramatically. But when the call came, they didn't hesitate for a second. It's what makes me so proud to be an officer in the IDF, I'm not sure there is another army like this in the world.

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Operational Updates

An expanded version of this update is updated on the IDF website daily. 

Good news these days is refreshing. I want to start with the incredible news you’ve already seen: earlier this week Israeli security forces operating in Gaza rescued PVT Ori Megidish, an IDF field observer who was abducted on October 7th. We share in the immense relief of PVT Megidish’s family and are committed to bringing the rest of the hostages safely home. 

• In Gaza, we are continuing our combined ground and air strikes, striking over 300 targets in the last day. 

• We continue to target senior and field Hamas leadership. Last night we eliminated the commander of the Beit Lahia battalion in Hamas’ Northern Brigade. The Northern Brigade of Hamas was responsible for the massacres at Kibbutz Erez and Moshav Netiv HaAsara. This was a combat commander, a terrorist leader whose removal from the battlefield will damage Hamas’ capabilities. 

• The Arrow aerial defense system intercepted an surface-to-surface missile fired toward Israeli territory from the Red Sea.

• Despite repeatedly being told (and shown!) that attacks in the north will be met with a severe response, Hezbollah continues to launch and plan attacks from Lebanon. Last night IDF fighter jets carried out strikes in Lebanon and destroyed Hezbollah infrastructure. Rocket attacks, or attempted infiltrations of Israeli territory will not be tolerated. On Tuesday morning, IDF soldiers targeted a terrorist cell planning to launch anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory.

  In addition, anti-tank missiles were fired at two IDF military posts near the border with Lebanon. The IDF is responding toward the sources of fire.

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Quote of the Day

“We brought Ori home.” 

 R. Adm Daniel Hagari, sharing the news of Pvt. Ori Megidish’s rescue.

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What I’m Reading 

These are interesting articles I’ve recently come across. By sharing them I am not endorsing them, their points of view, or the veracity of information therein. They’re just interesting articles I came across.

Hamas’ Second Stage Strategy - Wall Street Journal

William McGurn on Hamas’ cynical use of civilians as human shields:  “Hamas has built a sophisticated tunnel network to protect its members from Israeli bombs and missiles. Has anyone seen a comparable network of shelters to safeguard the Palestinians Hamas claims to be fighting for?”

VIDEO: Brutality of Hamas Attack Seen at Israel Morgue - CNN 

Since October 7th, Forensic scientists, dentists, and doctors have been working to identify the victims of Hamas’ barbaric acts of October 7th. Hundreds of bodies remain unidentified, but we will not rest until we provide closure to all the families and loved ones of the victims.