(Ynet News) Elisha Ben Kimon - Here are the stories of four soldiers who acted under fire, saving lives with their precision, vigilance and rapid response. On August 1, Corporal S., 20, from the Judea Brigade, was driving with another soldier near Eshtemoa and identified a suspicious person sitting at the bus stop usually used only by Israelis. "We approached him, initially speaking from inside the vehicle, as part of a routine check. We noticed he wasn't responding to our queries, so I decided to step out of the car....In a split second, he drew a knife and tried to stab me. I immediately took a few steps back, readied my weapon as he continued charging at me with the knife. I fired a warning shot into the air, but he continued running onto the road towards the Israeli community, intending to stab people there. I fired at him until he was neutralized....We prevented a potential attack on civilians. It could have ended entirely differently." On July 25, Y., 19, a combat engineering soldier in the Samaria Brigade, together with his commander and another soldier, was attacked at the Tel al-Ras checkpoint by three armed terrorists. They managed to neutralize them and emerged from the incident unharmed. "In those moments, it was clear to me, it was either us or them, no other option. I felt I had to do everything to neutralize them because I knew what would happen if they managed to get past us....They had three M16 rifles and a pistol....They had planned a massacre." On July 10, A., 20, a soldier in the Duchifat Battalion, went with three of his comrades for guard duty. A car stopped at a bend about 150 meters from their position. The driver said in Arabic, "'I'm waiting for a friend,' and then he suddenly opened the door and hurled a grenade at us - it passed right above me because he threw it too hard. I opened fire and yelled 'terrorist,' shooting at him alongside the soldier with me. He was hit, but during the shootout, he managed to reach back into the car and grabbed a Carlo gun that was on one of the seats. He fired several shots at us before he fell....Upon inspecting the vehicle, we discovered that he had three more grenades and additional ammunition." On April 1, Staff Sergeant Y., 21, a soldier in the Givati Brigade, was with four other soldiers on Highway 60 near the Gush Etzion area, close to Karmei Tzur. Just after sunset, "we suddenly noticed a car speeding toward us with high beams on. It was evident that the driver intended to crash into us. When he was several feet away, traveling at high speed, he swerved right and crashed into our jeep. As a result, three of my comrades were injured, some of them seriously. I was a short distance from the Hummer and was thus unharmed. I immediately fired at the attacker, along with another soldier who was unharmed, and we neutralized him."
2023-10-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive