I Served in the IDF in the 2014 War in Gaza. The Friends I Lost There Should Have Been the Last Ones.
I was the commander of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) infantry platoon sent into the Gaza Strip during Operation “Protective Edge” in 2014. I remember the burning skies at night, the incessant sound of bombings, the destruction, and the sense of danger in the air.
I remember the moment I was told five of my soldiers had been killed after Hamas operatives used a tunnel and infiltrated their fortified post, and how none of us slept that night. We just smoked and looked at each other without saying a word.
Almost every old friend I run into talks to me about Gaza. Most of them are in therapy to help them let go of what they experienced there—most of them unsuccessfully.