Running into the tunnel to look for Hadar Meanwhile, a day after Goldin was taken captive in southern Gaza, new details have emerged regarding the circumstances of his possible kidnapping. According to information received by Ynet Saturday, the Givati Patrol Company, headed by Maj. Benaya Sarel - who was killed in the incident - was in the midst of searching an area adjacent to a mosque in which the IDF believed there was a terror tunnel reaching into Israel when the fateful incident occurred. IDF moves troops out of urban areas in northern Gaza Hamas says its not bound by a unilateral Israeli withdrawal after IDF tells Beit Lahia residents its safe to return to their homes. Hadar Goldin documented by Ynet in Gaza 2 days before he was kidnapped Beforehand, the company divided into a number of smaller groups and then proceeded towards their target area on foot. Maj. Sarel led the crew and was joined by Staff Sgt. Liel Gidoni, who was also killed in the incident, 2nd.-Lt. Hadar Goldin, who was taken captive, and a communication officer. The rest of the Patrol Companys units were a few dozen meters away in an open field facing the neighborhood near the mosque. According to testimonies received by Ynet, Maj. Sarel and Staff Sgt. Gidoni were both shot at close range after a blast from suicide bomber who detonated himself pushed them back. Immediately after the blast, the third combat soldier in the unit - Goldin - was taken into an adjacent tunnel shaft - presumably the one the terrorists emerged from. At this point, with their commanding officer Maj. Sarel dead, it took the forces close to three minutes to regroup and come to term with what had happened. The situation was further exacerbated by the gunfire that had opened on them the moment the suicide bomber detonated himself. A senior Givati Brigade commander ordered another unit from the Patrol Company to open fire and throw grenades into into the tunnel into which Goldin was taken. They were further ordered to enter the tunnel and attempt to engage with the terrorist inside and find the missing soldier. The deputy company commander, Maj. Sharel’s second-in-command, ran into the structure housing the entrance to the tunnel, and down the tunnel shaft. The tunnel turned out to be quite short and ended in the adjacent mosque - a dead end. Fearing the place was boobytrapped, the forces were ordered to backtrack. In the meantime, fire exchanges with terrorist had begun in the street next to the mosque, and the army decided to bomb the mosque, and then search for additional tunnel shafts. After the deed was done, forces searched and searched, but no additional tunnels - nor any clue leading to the whereabout of Goldin - could be found. A source within the IDF said that the army does not investigate such incidents through the media, and claimed internal and preliminary investigations were already underway. “The full and more detailed investigations will take place when the fighting ends,” he added. Search for Goldin continues A senior IDF official spoke with Ynet and detailed the armys efforts to find the missing 23-year-old officer, which are focused on the Rafah area near Gazas border with Egypt, saying the IDF is still not sure if Goldin is alive or not. The senior IDF official admitted that in light of the attacks nature, the IDF still does not have a working assumption of whether he was killed or not. We are trying to figure out and recreate exactly what happened. We still do not have full details regarding the suicide bomber, but we do know the troops died as a result for fire and the blast. Commenting on the incident itself, he said Some 1,500-2,000 meters from our territory (the Patrol Company) came across an open area near some homes, and then they ran into a terror cell which came out of a tunnel shaft into which the officer (Goldin) was then taken. Hamas military wing said it believes Goldin might have been killed in the clash with Hamas fighters. We believe all members of this group have died in an (Israeli) strike, including the Zionist soldier the enemy says disappeared, the terror group said. Israeli officials have refused to comment on this claim.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 21:46:41 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015