In the midst of the fighting in Gaza, the IDF managed to complete a complex and important operation: the rescue of the bodies of five Israelis who were kidnapped in a Hamas attack on October 7. Ravid Katz, Mia Goren, Oren Goldin, Sergeant Tomer Achims and Sergeant Kirill Brodsky were finally brought to Israel for burial, after whose bodies were found in the depths of a terror tunnel in Khan Yunis.
The operation began at the beginning of the week with fierce fighting against about 40 terrorists in the area of the main square of the town of Bnei Suhila, near the Khan Yunis municipality building. The fighters of the commando brigade eliminated the terrorists and paved the way for the main mission.
After an intensive intelligence effort and interrogations of detainees, the forces located an underground shaft in an area designated as humanitarian. On the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, the fighters discovered the “end of the thread” of the tunnel. For 12 consecutive hours, the Yalom fighters worked at a depth of about 20 meters, digging by hand and with the help of engineering tools, until they uncovered the wrapped bodies lying in the ground.
The tunnel, about 200 meters long, included living rooms, toilets and underground living quarters, which indicate its importance for Hamas. The IDF spokesman, Lt. Col. Daniel Hagari, stated that the bodies were hidden “on the side of the tunnel”, in a section that was part of a wider set of tunnels that the IDF worked to destroy at the beginning of the year.
The complex rescue operation was managed by Lt. Col. E., the new commander of the Aguz unit, which was his first action in the position. E. himself was wounded at the beginning of the war and returned to duty after rehabilitation, illustrating the personal and professional price paid by the fighters on the front.
The recovery of the bodies symbolizes a great and gratifying success, which shows us that along with the complexity and challenges of fighting in Gaza, there are great successes.
The operation is an important step towards closing the circle for the families of the abductees and for the people of Israel as a whole, while continuing the struggle to return all the abductees and the missing.
