Captain Miki Sharvit
Photo: Roee Idan
'We dream of bringing Gilad Shalit home'
Armor company commander Miki Sharvit tells Ynet a little about the fighting experience in Gaza
Operation Cast Lead from a personal angle: Extracting injured troops under enemy fire, dodging Hamas traps and the constant wariness against clashes with gunmen, are just some of the experiences Captain Miki Sharvit, a company commander with the Armored Corps, has had to deal with since he and his troops entered the Gaza Strip.
The preparations for the Gaza incursion, he told Ynet, began long before they set foot in the Strip: "We were well prepared for this operation and we could record motivation among the troops. There were actual arguments about who gets to go in."
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The first day, he added, was not devoid of the natural concerns: "We had the natural concerns of a clash, but everyone knew that fear would disappear the moment a clash happened our way. Once that happened, we felt like the pressure was off."
The tank patrol led by Sharvit, operated alongside the Golani Brigade that was hit by friendly fire: "The fighting is characterized by the fact that you rarely actually see the enemy. Everything is taking place underground – the terrorist literally jump out at you from underground. It’s like an underground city and it infers cautious movement on our part.
'We have a unique bond'
"Whenever we seize a house," he continued, "there are tanks and an Engineering force that scan if for booby traps. In one instance we came across a house and found 40 gas containers."Sharvit, whose company operated in the northern Gaza district of al-Attara, was nearby at the time of the deadly friendly fire incident which took place last week: "All of a sudden we heard this blast… We knew the structure was hit, but we didn’t know why. We could tell there were a lot of casualties."
While radioing in for assistance for the casualties, Sharvit's force spotted gunmen near the site. "One of the tanks took care of the cell while I made way towards the building and started pulling the injured out." He and his forces transported some of the injured soldiers to a rendezvous point near the security fence. "It was a very tense ride," he said.
Other clashes with gunmen had Sharvit and his troops on their toes, he said, since every clash bears the risk of an attempted abduction.
One of the clashes left Sharvit with an arm injury, which forced him to leave Gaza in favor of medical treatment. Done with his mandatory downtime, he is eager to return to his troops.
"Sitting inside a tank for hours on end is no simple task, but it creates a unique bond among the men."
Sharvit's company has been hailed for their operations in Gaza, but their dream, he said, is to bring kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit back to Israel when they leave the Strip. "We all talk about it. We want him to come back with us."
