מים מלוכלכים (חלק ראשון)

I was dispatched to Israel to aid the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in locating and clearing Hamas's underground tunnel network in Gaza.

Israel's Ministry of Defense had decided to flood the underground tunnels with seawater to force Hamas fighters out into the open; rifle squads stationed at entrance and egress points would then close with and destroy them as they attempted to flee.

I was issued a rifle and Medai Bet upon my arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport. Touching base with IDF leadership in Tel Aviv, the commanding officer in charge of the operation gave me one simple command: "If it isn't Israeli, kill it."

Roger that. 

An hour later our IDF convoy arrived in Gaza City, responding to reports that a tunnel complex had been discovered beneath a Palestinian elementary school. 

Our orders were to augment and assist Israeli ground forces engaged in close combat and hostage rescue operations inside the tunnel. 

We were informed upon our arrival that six soldiers had been killed in an attempt to recover Israeli hostages stowed inside the tunnel. Six more soldiers were seriously wounded by Hamas fighters deploying booby traps, grenades and small arms fire.

No hostages were found inside the tunnel: the rumor had been a ruse to lure Israeli forces into the tunnel where Hamas fighters lay in wait. 

Israeli military commanders realized too late that they had been routed into a narrow corridor; in the darkened confines of the underground tunnel complex, the corridor became a shooting gallery.

The six body bags sitting at the mouth of the tunnel entrance coupled with the bloodstains on the squad leader's uniform told us everything we needed to know about what was waiting for us inside those tunnels.