"Revenge" and "7/10 unforgiven, have a nice flight" - these messages are spray-painted on the makeshift landing pad atop a three-story villa on the outskirts of Khan Younis. From here, drones are launched to guide the forces and aircraft.
Beyond the wall, in a dimly lit room illuminated mainly by the glow of screens, reservists under the command of Colonel Israel Friedler watch what's happening a mile south, in Bani Suheila.
Three screens display two camera angles and another with aerial footage marking friendly and enemy forces. Two Palestinian youths running past another destroyed building arouse suspicion. It quickly becomes clear they are hurrying to catch a ride from a passing car. There is no need to target them with aircraft.
About an hour earlier, a similar identification led to the elimination of 10 terrorists by a fighter jet bomb, according to the commander who, until a few months ago, was training commanders.
Friedler, 43, has experienced wars, but nothing compares to the intensity of the past five months. Since October 7, his unit has lost 21 soldiers, and his wife, staying at home in the West Bank settlement of Alon Shvut with their six children, visits each of the families while the fighting rages on. At one point, seven of Friedler's eight brothers (he also has four sisters) participated in the fighting.
From a brief visit to the logistical and operational hub of the 98th Division, which is still orchestrating the intensive operation in Khan Younis, it's apparent that the conflict is far from over. And if a cease-fire takes place?
"We'll do as we did last time, wait at our prepared positions, and then return to fight," the commander says confidently.
Under his command are battalions from various IDF arms, both regular and reserve, and this mix benefits everyone. In four months, they've learned how to fine-tune the war machine – and it delivers results daily.
We're not delving into the big questions for now. After five months, Yahya Sinwar is still in hiding, and most other Hamas leaders remain unharmed.
There's a consensus on the ground that entering Rafah is necessary, yet there's no concrete knowledge of if or when it will happen.
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The vast extent of the tunnels was unknown to intelligence, but that's not the focus here, especially a day after a kilometer-long tunnel was discovered and destroyed in the division’s sector, with vehicles continuously passing on the road.
"The rain was a blessing; until yesterday, every movement kicked up terrible dust. We prefer mud, but just a bit," he says.
Itamar, a reservist and commander of the Infantry School Brigade reconnaissance battalion, observes from the third floor the Hamad neighborhood, where he briefly lived.
He came to Netzar Hazani during the 2005 disengagement with his father, retired Brig. Gen. Effi Eitam, then leader of the National Religious Party.
In uniform, Itamar is cautious with his words, merely admitting, "It's heart-wrenching to see the place where the Gush Katif settlements once stood. Now we've had to return, and it's not with joy."
As smoke and the sounds of explosions emanate from the direction Itamar points out, now populated with Qatari financial aid, Friedler reminds us that hundreds of terrorists have been killed there in recent days, with many more still inside. The task of dismantling Hamas will take more time, he stresses.
While offering warm words to the families of the regular forces in the rear, Itamar is moved when he speaks of two of his fighters, squad commanders who remained in Khan Younis and hid their injuries from a lethal incident on Saturday in which Sergeant Inon Yitzhak, Sergeant Afik Tery and Sergeant Dolev Haim Malca were killed.
"They’re schooling us," the colonel says about the young generation of warriors who, within months, have gained combat experience and training incomparable to anything else in IDF history.
All this, amid the loss of comrades, he notes, describing the conversation he had with the soldiers shortly after the deadly explosion, in which he seemingly served as an ad-hoc mental health officer in the field.
Exiting past the logistical center - which includes a refueling station for IDF vehicles - Fadi from the Arab Christian village of Eilabun recalls commanding five religious soldiers, "I had to learn their prayer times."
The force is far from finished, they try to convey, as more trucks pass us on the new “Highway 6” as the soldiers securing both sides call it. From here, it doesn't seem like anyone intends to abandon this route anytime soon.