Copyright ynetnews
The battle at Lulim outpost was a story of courage and impossible odds. Only seven soldiers from the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit were stationed there for Shabbat when Hamas terrorists stormed the border. They fought against dozens of attackers until reinforcements arrived. Their commander, Capt. Tomer Shoham, and team member Staff Sgt. (res.) Or Mizrahi were killed in the fierce fighting. Nearby, at Camp Amitai and Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, other Nahal soldiers fought similar battles against waves of armed terrorists. Three more soldiers — Staff Sgts. Shoham Moshe Ben Harush, Yaron Uri Shay, and Sgt. Natan Chai Liar — fell in those engagements, along with two reservists from the kibbutz’s emergency squad, Master Sgts. (res.) Yedidya Moshe Raziel and Yisrael Amichai Witzen. Lulim: Seven against dozens When reports of the border infiltration came over the radio, the small Nahal team at Lulim jumped into their armored personnel carrier and headed for the security fence. What they saw was staggering — hundreds of armed Hamas fighters, some on foot, others in pickup trucks and motorcycles. Near the fence, they split into two groups. One took position on a nearby hill, exchanging heavy fire with waves of attackers. During the fighting, one soldier and Capt. Shoham were hit by sniper fire. Shoham later succumbed to his wounds. As the team fell back to resupply and fortify the outpost, Staff Sgt. Mizrahi was killed in close combat. When the remaining soldiers regrouped, they came under fire from multiple directions. One of them, the squad’s machine gunner, took position behind a concrete post and held his ground, killing dozens of terrorists. For hours, the small force fought tenaciously to prevent the outpost from being overrun. Only in the late afternoon did an IDF attack helicopter arrive, striking the remaining terrorists and breaking the assault. 'I was seconds from death' R., the machine gunner, recalls setting out at 5:30 a.m. after heavy mortar fire began to fall around them. “We got to the fence and saw masses of terrorists approaching,” he said. “They blew up the fence and it flew into the air. We opened fire. Tomer [the commander] moved to flank them while I gave cover from below.” Within minutes, both the commander and the unit’s marksman were hit. R. helped evacuate the wounded and fell back toward the outpost, only to find it already swarming with terrorists. “We saw that Mizrahi had been killed fighting them. We put him and the wounded in the kitchen and took up defensive positions,” he said. The team used every bit of ammunition they could find, even weapons belonging to fallen comrades. By midmorning, they had repelled the first wave of attackers — but by 1:30 p.m., the terrorists managed to flank the outpost from behind. R. radioed the command post: “If no rescue comes in a few minutes, everyone here will die.” Then a gunman ambushed him from behind. “We fought at point blank and I managed to kill him,” R. said. “But then more came. I had one magazine left—about 20 bullets. I thought about my family and knew this was it.” At that moment, a combat helicopter arrived overhead. “I heard the roar, then an explosion right next to me,” R. said. “It hit the terrorists surrounding the outpost. Some fled. It was the very last moment we could have been saved.” Camp Amitai: 'We knew we might not come out alive' That same morning, around 5:30 a.m., soldiers from Camp Amitei, a Nahal base near the border, were already at their posts. An hour later, under intense rocket and mortar fire, more than 100 terrorists crossed the border toward the base and Kibbutz Kerem Shalom. A., a command post officer who hadn’t even planned to stay that weekend, recalled: “By 6:30 a.m. there was a rain of mortars — dozens falling meters from us. Then came reports of terrorists advancing all along the sector.” The battalion deputy commander declared a state of war. Within minutes, terrorists breached the fence near Kerem Shalom. Soldiers split into small units, engaging the infiltrators in brutal, close-range firefights. Staff Sgt. Yaron Shai and his team formed a human shield at the kibbutz gate, blocking dozens of Hamas gunmen under relentless RPG fire until he was killed. “He gave his life to save others,” A. said. Elsewhere, A.’s team fought off waves of attackers as a deputy company commander was severely wounded by gunfire. “We saw about 120 terrorists ahead of us,” A. said. “It was a hellish firefight.” 'We weren’t supposed to survive' At one point, A. sprinted through incoming fire to reach Shai’s vehicle. “Bullets were whistling past me,” he said. “I pulled him back under fire.” As the fight raged, their armored vehicle was hit by RPGs. “We decided to head back toward the base, not knowing dozens of terrorists had already overrun most of it,” A. recalled. “At the gate we saw seven pickup trucks and motorcycles firing at the outpost. I thought, ‘We’re not getting out of here alive.’” An RPG hit their vehicle, lifting it off the ground. Miraculously, the soldiers survived, breached the outpost gate, and regrouped with other troops. Together, they began retaking the base, clearing one section after another. They recovered heavy weapons and opened intense fire. A damaged tank nearby, unable to shoot, was ordered to circle the outpost, creating noise and confusion. “The terrorists didn’t know it was disabled. It scared them into retreating,” A. said. “We identified them running between positions and eliminated them. That’s how we retook the base.” Once control was restored, A. led a force toward Kerem Shalom, accompanied by the disabled tank. “We took every bit of ammo we could find, even from our fallen friends,” he said. “When we entered the kibbutz, we came under RPG fire again. We joined the local emergency squad and fought from house to house.” 'Those minutes made the difference' Looking back, A. believes that the early fighting outside the outpost changed everything. “If we hadn’t been there to delay them, it could have been much worse,” he said. “Those few minutes gave the kibbutz time to arm and prepare. They made the difference.” Even now, he says, he struggles with the loss. “You think you’re ready, but nothing prepares you for losing your brothers, your commanders, your friends,” he said quietly. “That’s what I’m still fighting with — every single day.”
