The IDF reported this morning (Monday) on a number of stories of closing with the enemy and fierce fighting in the Gaza Perimeter area since the war began with Hamas' terror offensive.
These stories join with those of first response teams in the towns whose individuals saved large numbers of residents when fighting dozens of terrorists.
1. Upon receiving reports of terrorist infiltration of Israel, commander of the National Center for Ground Forces Training (Tzeelim base), Brig.-Gen. Roman Gupman left his home in Ashdod to the Gaza sector. En route, he encountered terrorists in Sderot and closed with the enemy. During the battle, he charged and strove to neutralize the enemy he faced. He was wounded, received treatment, and is now in stable condition.
2. Second Lieutenant A., assistant information security officer for the Gaza division, serving as an officer without combat soldier training, fought in a number of encounters with terrorists, as he happened to be at Reim base on rotation during Shabbat. The officer foiled a number of attacks on site.
3. Shlomo Boimester, 70 years old, serves as a Gaza division rear front officer in the reserves in times of emergency. Shlomo headed to the Reim base with his personal weapon and encountered and killed terrorists on the way there. He was wounded by shrapnel but continues to serve in the divisional war room.
4. Extraction brigade commander Col. Elad Edrei left the brigade rear training base in Zikim during Shabbat to fight with his subordinates, fighting for many hours to stop the terrorists and protect the residents of the area.
5. Lt.-Col. Yarden Shukrun, commander of the extraction brigade's Shachar battalion, headed to the Urim base with some of his subordinates after reports came in of four terrorists inside the base. During the battles, they killed three of the terrorists and the fourth was also taken out later.
6. A force of eight soldiers from Battalion 931 under the command of Major Tal Grushka ob"m fought to neutralize terrorists in Sderot. During their efforts, they were attacked by a number of terrorists in the area and returned fire. Tal ob"m was wounded in his shoulder. Despite this, the force continued its offensive and neutralized a number of terrorists in the area. Once the battle was over, he was evacuated to the hospital, where he was declared dead.
7. Divisional engineering officer Lt.-Col. Y. encountered terrorists a number of times at Reim base. Even after being wounded in the leg, he continued to fight for many hours to defeat the terrorists.
8. During the day, a force from the Karakal Battalion commanded by Lt.-Col. Or Ben Yehudah captured 15 armed terrorists at Yated. After many hours of intense fighting, the terrorists surrendered and are now being held in Israel. They have been transferred for Shin Bet interrogation.