17 minutes in Beit Hanoun: Battalion 931's bloody battle in Gaza
One year ago during Protective Edge, a force from the Nahal Brigade came under heavy Hamas fire; it was outnumbered and lost two fighters, with many others wounded, but the troops came out on top, killing 15 terrorists.
They began the battle greatly outnumbered, lost two fighters with many more wounded - but Battalion 931 of the Nahal Brigade refused to surrender. A year after the brave battle in Beit Hanoun, the battalion's commanders came together to listen to the recordings of the radio communications from that day, for the first time since living it.
A ground force of 16 fighters, including two dog handlers from the Oketz Unit and a team of engineering troops from the Yahalom unit, entered Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip in the late night hours of July 25, 2014.
The force from the 931 Battalion, under the command of Major Gilad Pasternak, was preparing for an attack in a built-up area, without knowing that a much larger Hamas force was readying a strike against it.
An anti-tank missile surprised the IDF troops. Yahalom fighter Staff Sgt. Gal Basson was killed on the spot, and many were wounded all around him.
"A mass casualty incident," was broadcasted on the radio. "We're extracting the wounded back with tanks. Must have a helicopter."
"Hamas' attack begins with anti-tank missiles. I fly back with the entire force, get up and under me I see a lot of wounded," Maj. Pasternak recounted, one year after the war. "Soldiers are shouting, but I realize they can't get up. Shooting starts, and we're pelted with grenades."
Then, the officer said, face-to-face combat began, against a Hamas force which was increasing its firepower in an attempt to kidnap a soldier.
Pasternak's second-in-command, 1st.-Lt. (res.) Yaniv Hartman, heard the massive explosion from the anti-tank missile, and rushes to join the force that was under attack, along with Staff Sgt. Avi Grintzvaig, his radioman.
Grintzvaig was working to evacuate the wounded soldiers out of the inferno as Hamas fire refused to relent. He ran back into the line of fire to evacuate another wounded soldier - and was killed.
Battalion commander Lt.-Col. Sharon Asman spoke of the radioman's bravery: "Avi, in his actions, demonstrated the value of friendship in the most important of situations. Evacuating the first wounded - maybe that's an instinct. But to go back for the second wounded you need to be seriously brave. He was acting selflessly, and unfortunately he paid for it with his life."
The battle continued, "I was wounded, collapsing onto the ground and had just enough time to tell Hartman to take command," Pasternak said. Hartman didn't think twice, and began commanding the fighting.
Meanwhile, battalion commander Asman, who was some 400 meters away from the scene of the attack, heard the explosions - but could not contact the force because the radioman was killed. He decided to advance towards the battle with a small tactical force, and attacked along with the support company.
"I tell Hartman - grab all the wounded and pull back, and reorganize the company for fighting," Asman said.
According to Asman, 15 Hamas terrorists were killed in the fighting.
For their actions in the battle, dubbed by the soldiers as "17 Minutes in Beit Hanoun," Staff Sgt. Avi Grintzvaig and 1st.-Lt. (res.) Yaniv Hartman received a citation.
"They (Hamas) had the upper hand at first. But the bottom line is, they lost and we won," Asman concluded.
