This time when I traveled to Gaza, I brought earplugs and a face mask.
The last time I visited the north of the Gaza Strip, including Shifa Hospital, I found out the hard way how thunderously loud it was in an armored personnel carrier (APC) “Namer” and came to the conclusion that it was The trip to Khan Yunis was a problem, hearing myself think was a priority.
Likewise, the dust I inhaled on my last trip to Gaza – the area is so devastated that both open and mostly closed vehicles are covered in dust – convinced me to break out the “rainy day” coronavirus masks I still lying around so I could breathe normally.
The Namer soldiers all had headphones and many of the soldiers had their faces completely covered with a material thicker than a cloth mask.
From an IDF base in the south, we traveled by name only to the IDF Brigadier General's forward headquarters. Dan Goldfus, crammed into the tiny converted room in a mostly still standing building. Palestinians inspect the site of Israeli attacks on a house in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 23, 2023 (Credit: Portal/IBRAHEEM ABU MUSTAFA)
We sat (some on the floor and others on a table with cookies and chips) staring at a projector that showed your standard Army PowerPoint mailbox, essentially sitting side by side with officials watching the progress of the in real time Forces in Khan Yunis pursued.
Here and there Goldfus paused to quietly issue new updated orders before turning back to our group, the first media visit to the southern Gaza front. Advertising
Visit to Sinwar's house in Khan Yunis
The next stop was the home of Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar in Khan Yunis.
Even with the earplugs, we were all disoriented as we emerged into the daylight and saw the remains of the road next to the remains of Sinwar's house.
Either because of this disorientation or because the IDF initially wanted to show a standing house with bullet and explosion holes where there had been a fierce battle with Hamas just two days earlier, all reporters initially started filming the wrong house.
After interviewing and recording both Goldfus and Commando Chief Col. Omer Cohen – in front of the wrong house – we all soon realized that the main event was taking place behind a 20- to 30-foot-tall hill or man-made dune across the street ( there was no house). asphalt road on the left.)
Everyone rushed to the hill and up – at least three reporters fell as they climbed the steep slope but were caught by others – to reach the top, where we could see the huge crater of what was left of Sinwar's house.
Inside the crater was a collection of broken and distorted doors, pieces of furniture, carpets, pink and other colorful clothing, pillows, and a life-sized large blue stuffed animal.
It was quite a sight, and standing right above it made it clear how deeply the IDF has penetrated Gaza, even though the fight to subdue Hamas is far from over.
It closely resembled the northern Gaza Strip, where much of the landscape had been destroyed.
In contrast, much of the area we traveled through in Khan Yunis appeared destroyed by fighting, but most structures remained intact.
If the IDF were to say it had learned lessons from northern Gaza, one of them might have been that less destruction of the landscape in southern Gaza would allow for faster recovery and a better chance of a more stable situation once the war is over.
Alternatively, the IDF used northern Gaza to send a message to Hamas, Hezbollah and ultimately Iran, believing that there was no reason to do the same to southern Gaza.
The southern Gaza Strip also still has more agricultural land and trees, which IDF commanders noted, as Khan Yunis is less developed and has a more varied landscape than the more urban Gaza City.
Journey to Khan Yunis more dangerous than the last journey
However, many warning signs suggested that this journey to Khan Yunis would be even more dangerous than the last.
The number of airstrikes and the volume of artillery fire heard nearby were far higher in Khan Yunis, along with near-constant gunfire in the background.
Inside the Namer, the intense concentration of the staff could be felt. One of the operator's vehicles was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade – he still told the story and is personal testament to what these vehicles can withstand.
Additionally, the safety briefing and the convoy we were a part of were much more specific, going into detail about various combat scenarios and explaining why the rules would be different on this excursion.
Put simply, the high-level battle was still ongoing in Khan Yunis, while in Shifa Hamas had been driven not only from the bloc but from most of the surrounding area.
In Shifa, many of the questions we asked Maj. “D” of the Shaldag Special Forces revolved around the tunnels and clashes in the hospital right in front of us.
In Khan Yunis, most of Cohen's questions revolved around who wasn't there – Sinwar himself – who fled his home before the airstrike pulverized the area.
We saw no civilians on either trip.
Whether in the north or the south, it is quite rare that Hamas is still ready to fight, and almost all clashes take the form of small-scale hit-and-runs in which terrorists briefly emerge from a tunnel to attack and then disappear.
As we jumped back into the Namer, I wondered when I would return to Gaza and whether on this trip we would travel in greater security and stability with a broader horizon that would restore the Israelis' sense of security and liberate the Gazans Hamas's grip.
Or whether the next trip would be just another symbolic victory that would again show how much further Israel has to go to achieve its goals.