Daniel Mazevich, the driver of the APC in which 11 fighters were killed on October 31, is the only survivor of that disaster that occurred on the first week of the IDF incursion. A month after the difficult incident, he returned to the charred, unrecognizable vehicle. As the sole survivor, he uploaded a commemorative post to Instagram, where he shared the difficult feelings, with a photo of him in the vehicle's remains.
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"In that disaster on our fifth day of entry, 11 out of 12 heroic fighters who were in that APC were killed, and only I remained. What you see in the picture is my APC, or at least what was left of it after the disaster."
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Daniel Mazevich, the sole survivor of the APC disaster, October 31
(Photo: Daniel's Instagram)
Daniel shared that he already managed to take the picture a month ago. "A month after the incident, during which I was sedated and ventilated for two weeks in critical condition, the guys who are working on my APC responded to my request. I asked the day I woke up, that on the day I would finally be able to get back on my feet, they would let me come and see the vehicle."
He shared that even before the maneuver, the vehicle was his home in the assembly area. "I slept in that vehicle more than I slept in my house in the last year. I took care of it more than I took care of myself and I took care of it every day as if it were my child, so that it would return to me and take care of me just as much on the battlefield, and here it was taking care of me."
"When we went to war, it was clear to us that in war, there would be wounded, there would be dead, maybe even from our team, but it didn't bother us because in front of our eyes was a higher goal than anything else, and that was to protect our home, our land that we have no other, and our families can go back to living in peace and without fear."
"But this? We never imagined this in our lives. Not even in our worst nightmares, that 11 warriors, heroes, legends and golden people, one by one, would leave us in one blow, with the same tool, in the same second." He said that now, despite the heavy disaster, he has a life's mission: "I don't know how exactly I survived, most say it's a miracle, and they're probably right, but one thing I know and that's the reason why I stayed, and that is to commemorate those 11 lions, who were my home and a second family along the way, some of them were there with me from the first day in the army, and went through so much with me, and those I met later, managed to be engraved in my heart and soul, each in their own way, and I want everyone to know who and what they were, angels."
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Fallen APC disaster soldiers: Staff Sergeant Itay Yehuda, Staff Sergeant Shay Arvas, Sergeant Adi Danan, Staff Sergeant Halel Solomon, Staff Sergeant Erez Mishlovsky, Staff Sergeant Adi Leon, Corporal Ido Ovadia, Corporal Lior Siminovich, Staff Sergeant Roie Dawi, Sergeant Pdaya Mark and Sergeant Roy Saragusti
At the end of the post he added the names of the 11 soldiers, and the relatives of their families did not remain indifferent. The sister of Sergeant Roie Dawi responded to him: "You are a true warrior in all your limbs! My family and all ten other families prayed day and night that you would get through this as quickly as possible and with as little damage as possible. Most of us also visited you when you were hospitalized. You know, we were never angry that you are alive and they are not! We are only full of gratitude to God that you survived! Now you have 11 angels watching over you and you will no longer need any tool of war to do this for you."
"I salute you. For the bravery, the courage to go into this war of no choice and for your personal war to stay alive. For the courage to go see the vehicle up close even after everything you've been through. We love you, support and strengthen you from near and far always. The Dawi family and all the families of the APC victims."
The sister of Sergeant Pdaya Mark added: "What a special person you are. Thank you for staying! You survived because the world needs your light!" Staff Sergeant Adi Leon's mother also responded to the emotional post: "They are all now watching over you from above. We are happy that you are with us."
The soldiers who were killed in the APC incident are Staff Sergeant Itay Yehuda, Staff Sergeant Shay Arvas, Sergeant Adi Danan, Staff Sergeant Halel Solomon, Staff Sergeant Erez Mishlovsky, Staff Sergeant Adi Leon, Corporal Ido Ovadia, Corporal Lior Siminovich, Staff Sergeant Roie Dawi, Sergeant Pdaya Mark and Sergeant Roy Saragusti.