
Ori and Maor, combat soldiers in the 52nd Battalion operating in the Jabaliya area, spoke to Israel National News about their feelings on returning to battle in the region, the incident in which the company commander was wounded, and their motivation to continue fighting despite the difficulties.
Ori, the company commander's liaison, described the soldiers’ feelings: "The atmosphere changes over time. It's a roller coaster of emotions, you can't describe it to someone who isn't here. But we do everything necessary, everything that needs to be done because we are doing it out of our love of the land, and not out of hatred of the enemy."
He shared his emotions surrounding the first ground incursion into the Gaza Strip: "Absolute fear, in general, a long drive, it took twelve hours to cover three kilometers, a huge convoy of tanks, armored vehicles, shooting, gunfire, we are not used to these things. Slowly we get used to it. Today it's our background music."
He spoke about the operational readiness even after a long period of fighting: "We are not sure, and we know that we must never take our foot off the gas regarding the enemy. They can always surprise us. We remain vigilant at all times, even at night and even if we need to hold an ambush for five hours in the cold and rain, then we will do it."
Maor explains why the IDF returned to the Jabaliya refugee camp for the fourth time, and from his perspective - for the second time: "When we entered for the first time, there were more enemies. Then we were focused more on eliminating the enemy, than clearing the area, and on the second time, we are clearing the area. We are removing identifiers, taking down a lot of explosives so that they cannot re-establish themselves here."

Looking back at Israel gives the soldiers the strength to continue. Ori says: "Look behind you. You can see all the lights of Ashkelon. of the entire south, the entire Gaza envelope. If you look forward, you will see the darkness of Gaza City. You look at the people behind you, your friends, your family, you're doing something that's more important."
He recalls the incident in which the company commander was wounded, "Two days ago we laid an ambush, and because of the rain and bad visibility, we did not identify two terrorists who fired an RPG missile at us. My company commander was wounded with shrapnel in the face, not something serious, he has already come back because he is a "tough guy." Despite the injury, we haven't given up on the mission, because the mission is above all. We went on the ambush without him."
In conclusion, Ori wanted to send best wishes to his mother who was celebrating her birthday, "I want to say happy birthday to you. I think about you, I miss you, of course to all the family members as well, but a mother is a mother."
Maor sent a message to his family: "I want to send my best regards to Mom and Dad, I miss you, I will be back soon. I love you."
