2023-11-07 21:08:31
Beit Hanun – It is the fence that commemorates October 7th. Of the horror. To the terrorists. Of the massacre. The fence that the Hamas terrorists were able to overcome. What no one thought possible.
It is Tuesday followingnoon, November 7th, exactly one month later, when I became the first German reporter since the war with the Israeli army to go to the Gaza Strip and cross the very fence that the whole world is talking regarding.
The beginning of the horror: the fence that the terrorists were able to overcome. For BILD reporter Paul Ronzheimer, the path leads through it into the Hamas zone
Photo: Paul Ronzheimer
As we cross the border in the military vehicle, I think regarding how the hordes came from the other direction and invaded the kibbutz villages.
I’m traveling with Israeli soldiers, they have their weapons at the ready, anything can happen here at any time.
“When we give the alarm, just do what we say and get on the ground,” said the Israeli soldier.
BILD reporter Paul Ronzheimer in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday
Photo: IMAGE
Hamas terrorists attack from a school
It’s a dune-like landscape here, small hills, burning sun. After a 15 minute drive from the border we reach Beit Hanun in the Gaza Strip.
Not a single house is standing anymore, the air raids have destroyed everything. Gunfire and explosions can be heard in the distance.
There are fights nearby. Hamas terrorists attack from a school and are also said to be occupying a hospital. The war takes place mainly in tunnels and cellars. “There are underground cities everywhere,” says commander Idor Kess. “They even attack us from mosques.”
Commander Idor Kess (l.) in conversation with Ronzheimer
Photo: IMAGE
Hamas positions are also said to have been in the hospital
The commander says that the civilians all fled beforehand, but we can’t verify that. “We didn’t see any civilians here and didn’t find any bodies,” he says.
Given the destruction, one thing is clear: If there were still civilians here during the attack, they would not have been able to survive.
The Palestinian terrorists’ perfidious tactics are evident in the rubble: They had positioned a rocket launcher next to a swimming pool, right next to a residential building. Hamas positions are also said to have been in the hospital. And among the rubble are numerous tunnels that were detonated by the Israeli army.
“We fought a thousand terrorists here, now there are perhaps a few hundred more in the tunnels,” says Israeli commander Idor Kess.
Hamas’s extensive tunnel system: A few hundred terrorists are said to be hiding here
Photo: Paul Ronzheimer
“That’s why I’m fighting here.”
From Beit Hanun we continue towards Gaza City. Tens of thousands of terrorists are said to have hidden there. The fiercest fighting threatens there. In the evening, Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (64) announced that his troops were now “in the center of the city of Gaza”.
The Israeli army has so far tried to involve itself in ground fighting as little as possible in order to avoid its own losses.
Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip: Weapons always at the ready. At any moment they expect an attack from the terrorists who are hiding everywhere
Photo: Paul Ronzheimer
When asked regarding the high number of civilian casualties, Commander Idor Kess said: “We are trying everything to avoid civilian casualties. We announce attacks. We are calling on people to leave areas.”
The soldiers who are in the Palestinian town of Beit Hanun know what can happen to them. Many of them lost friends and relatives on October 7th. “That’s why I’m fighting here,” a soldier tells me.
For Commander Kess it is clear: “It is very dangerous to be here because they are entrenching themselves everywhere.”
“We are trying everything to avoid civilian casualties,” say the Israeli soldiers in Beit Hanun
Photo: Paul Ronzheimer
October 7th made the soldiers determined. And allergic when you talk to them regarding the high civilian casualties. “We are waging war here once morest terrorists who are hiding everywhere, listen to what is happening here,” says the commander.
In fact, the massive fire can be heard in close proximity. The fighting continues unabated for the soldiers. Nobody here knows how long the war will last. Commander Kess says: “We will continue until Hamas is destroyed.”
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