IDF troops patrol Gaza border in unprotected vehicles: 'We feel like sitting ducks'
Soldiers sent to patrol the border in jeeps completely exposed to gunfire, snipers and anti-tank missiles are worried for their safety, say calm following Gaza operation created over-confidence.
A month and a half after Operation Protective Edge has ended, and the reality on the Gaza border is one that worries the patrolling troops. A Ynet investigation found that unlike the days before the summer war, forces are now being sent to patrol the border in open vehicles, completely exposed to gunfire, snipers and most dangerous of all, anti-tank missiles.
The IDF claims the jeeps are not patrolling the border fence itself, but testimonies from soldiers and an investigation by Ynet paint a different picture - in an area considered one of the hottest zones on the Gaza border, the vehicles often patrol alone, without backup.
In this area, between Israeli territory and Palestinian homes on the eastern edges of Gaza City, soldiers patrol in a completely open jeep, without even protection from stone-throwing.
"There's a sense of complacence and over-confidence that comes from in the calm that followed the operation. We don't talk about it a lot, but the feeling among the soldiers is that we're like sitting ducks.
"In daily briefings, we are told of past incidents in which terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at armored vehicles and soldiers were seriously wounded, precisely in some of the places we patrol in a large patrolling vehicle, clearly visible from a few hundred meters away," the soldier went on to say.
This is not the only change made since the operation in the south. The relative calm in the Gaza border area has led the Southern Command to allow free passage in the old access road to kibbutz Nahal Oz rather than the bypass that was built three years ago due to the anti-tank missile threat to vehicles driving on the old road, which is overlooking the homes in the Strip.
The new road was built at the time after an anti-tank missile hit a school bus, causing the death of 16-year-old Daniel Viflic. In the past, the old road was opened in accordance with army situation assessments, and it was blocked during times of rising tensions. At times, the entrance to the kibbutz was even limited to its residents only, due to the severity of the threat in the area.
Opening the old road completely, without warning signs like the ones previously posted, could indicate on the new reality taking form on the Gaza border since the operation. At the same time, the regional councils in the area decided not to take the risk and continue transporting students via the new bypass.
The IDF said in response: "Deciding which type of vehicle to use for different security missions to protect the residents of the Gaza border communities are made in accordance with situation assessments and at commanders' discretion. Furthermore, the road leading to Nahal Oz is opened on all days of the year to allow kibbutz residents to continue with their daily routine. The road is closed in accordance with situation assessments."
Matan Tzuri contributed to this report.
