In Central Gaza, Where Gunmen Lurk Underground, a Commander Sees a Long Slog Ahead

Ahnaf Kalam

An pair of IDF soldiers in Gaza (Photo: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)


ON THE GAZA BORDER — Sudden and unpredictable blasts of outgoing mortar fire punctured the air in the otherwise peaceful forest west of Kibbutz Be’eri.

Though it was the site of an unimaginably cruel massacre 100 days before, the kibbutz had managed to reclaim some of its pastoral charm, at least in the woodland outside the devastated border community.

The fields ringing the kibbutz, covered with verdant winter grass, rose in gentle swells. Peacocks bobbed and chattered as they went about their business in a lot next to the yellow kibbutz gate, the very same site that had been packed with IDF troops, ZAKA body retrieval teams, and stacks of terrorist remains in the days after October 7.

Read the full article at the Times of Israel.

Lazar Berman is the Times of Israel‘s diplomatic reporter and a Middle East Forum Writing Fellow.

Lazar Berman is the diplomatic correspondent at the Times of Israel, where he also covers Christian Affairs. He holds an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University and taught at Salahuddin University in Iraqi Kurdistan. Berman is a reserve captain in the IDF’s Commando Brigade and served in a Bedouin unit during his active service.
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