Major Guy, 33, an assistant to the technology officer of the Gaza Division, did not anticipate how his family's weekend would unfold. His 4.5-year-old daughter, Mika, had accompanied him to the base and was caught in the midst of a terrifying terrorist attack.
Read more:
"I spent the holiday at the base, where it's customary for non-commissioned officers' families to join for the weekend. My wife and our two daughters, Mika and Omer (2.2 years old), came along.," he told Ynet and sister publication Yedioth Ahronoth. "My wife and I decided that she would take Omer back to Ashkelon and Mika would remain with me. We planned to reunite for Shabbat dinner the following morning at the base."
Nothing prepared Guy and Mika for what would happen to them in the next few hours. "At six in the morning on Saturday we woke up to the sound of sirens. I grabbed Mika and ran to the nearest shelter. She put her head on me, hugged me and didn't cry. She's used to sirens. "I went to get my uniform and weapons and dressed in the shelter. At some point, I started to hear explosions inside the base and asked the officer who was with me if he heard gunshots. He said he did not but at that point we took fire in the safe room from a few meters away."
It sunk in. "I immediately realized - there were terrorists on the base. I picked up Mika and went to my office, holding her in my arms the entire time. I secured a protective vest on her, while I donned a combat vest, loaded my cartridges, and geared up with my helmet and weapon," he says.
Taking precautions to keep Mika safe, "I put her down under the table, gave her a toy gun, and told her, 'Mika, you have to stay here quietly. There are bad people outside, and they must not find you. Daddy is going to find the bad guys and then I'll come back.' I did this to provide her with a sense of security."
During this time, dozens of Hamas terrorists infiltrated the base and began breaking into division offices. The division commander retreated to the bunker in the command center, directing the battle from there. Meanwhile, Guy locked his office and promptly joined the fight against the terrorists.
"I moved to another nearby office, took up a position at the window with another officer who was armed, and we both opened fire on some terrorists," Guy described his actions. "We managed to hit one terrorist, who fell on the road into the base. The officer with me ran out of ammunition and went to find another weapon."
At this juncture, Guy's concern for Mika's safety drove him back to the office. "I returned to the office to ensure Mika was safe, and the fear that they might have taken her was unbearable," he says. "I sat with her, gave her some chocolate, and told her, 'We need to stay silent until they come to rescue us.'" he says taking a moment to comfort his daughter.
The sight of terrorists on the base was a horrifying experience. The guilt of having exposed his daughter to such danger with gunfire and terrorism weighed heavily on Guy. For three agonizing hours, he and Mika remained in the same office, praying the Hamas terrorists wouldn't discover them.
Guy would periodically leave to engage in the fight, then return, while Mika did her best to remain silent and calm. Their ordeal finally ended when IDF Special Forces arrived on the scene and rescued the pair.