Soldiers attacked by Hamas last week call survival a ‘miracle’

Of eight grenades thrown at the sleeping troops, only two exploded.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

IDF soldiers attacked by Hamas last Wednesday in their compound near Khan Younis called their survival a “miracle” as new details emerged of the surprise night raid by about 18 terrorists, Walla reported Tuesday.

Kfir Brigade troops who were involved in the incident told the media outlet that the attacking force managed to cross the perimeter of the small base, approach a building in which more than 10 soldiers were sleeping, and throw eight grenades at them in rapid succession.

The Yahalom bomb disposal unit later found that only two of the eight had exploded, which the soldiers described as “an open miracle.”

The Hamas force also fired an anti-tank missile at a building in the compound where soldiers had slept only days earlier, the soldiers told Walla.

The army said the structure was a “dummy” meant to confuse the enemy, but soldiers said it was regularly used as a rest area by non-Kfir forces.

One of the fighters said his unit found a stretcher near the building, meaning that if the building had been manned, the terrorists would not only have killed soldiers but also taken a hostage.

The IDF spokesman said the attack was a kidnapping attempt.

Jolted out of their sleep, the troops responded immediately, firing at the attackers and killing 10 of them in close combat around the compound. The rest fled back to the tunnel shaft they had come from, about 50 yards away from the encampment.

The troops called in air support, and within minutes, the IAF struck the tunnel opening with missiles, killing several more terrorists.

Three soldiers were wounded in the attack, one seriously.

While praising the unit’s quick response, the IDF opened an investigation, citing a likely security lapse if troops were stationed so close to an active Hamas tunnel and the terrorists were able to launch a surprise attack.

Walla reported that fighters had warned their superiors before the assault that they saw suspicious activity in the area, later identified as enemy surveillance.

The soldiers also reported seeing heads emerge from the tunnel shaft that was eventually used in the raid.

According to them, the commanders basically dismissed their reports, saying the shaft had been neutralized in the past by engineering forces and was awaiting further inspection by the Yahalom unit.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit responded to the report in a single sentence, saying it was “unaware of the presented claims” in its initial investigation of the incident.

The fighters told Walla that after senior commanders inspected the site and completed an initial inquiry, they were reassigned to another compound near Khan Younis due to concerns about additional tunnels in the area.