Kipa reporter Amiel Yarchi, who is currently serving as a reserve soldier in the Gaza Strip, shared what he saw in middle-class Gazan homes he and his fellow soldiers entered while carrying out operations.

“We wake up early in the morning, hastily drink coffee, and head out for an attack. The tank platoon fires a shell or two, we lead the assault, clearing explosives around the house with a bulldozer and breaking down walls for the infantry to clear the house.”

“We enter a middle-class home — a nice living room, an ugly kitchen, a master bedroom, and three children’s rooms. The bathroom is clean, and the children’s rooms are full of dolls, toy guns, and a child’s Hamas hat. Upstairs, we find Nukhba uniforms, vests, and a grenade. There are Dora sheets on the girl’s bed – her father works in murdering Jewish children.”

“There’s a Hamas tunnel in the backyard of the adjacent house and in the bedroom, there’s a permit to work in Israel. Such is life in a neighborhood like this.”

“IDF soldiers on the outskirts of Khan Yunis must look east before every attack – to see the houses of Kibbutz Nir Oz in which the family’s father entered to kidnap and murder.”

“The soldiers exit the house, and we begin to demolish it with the bulldozer. Revenge is not a dirty word.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)