Following the kidnapping of Israel soldiers Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser in 2006, IDF Commander Moti Baruch gives his soldiers clear directives: prevent hostage scenarios at all costs. Baruch tells his soldiers to open fire the minute terrorists abduct a soldier, even if by doing so, they endanger the hostage's life.
"The message is that no soldier is to be captured, and that is an unequivocal message,” Baruch said in an interview with Haaretz.
Soldiers must be prepared to risk their own lives, and even each others' lives, in order to neutralize the enemy, Baruch explained. “In the end, an incident like this must be seen, above all, as one where there is an enemy, even before one sees that involves a kidnapped soldier. There is an enemy who must be hit.”
Everyone involved is risking their lives, he pointed out. The hostage is at risk from his comrades' fire, and the other soldiers are at risk from terrorist fire. “There's no question about it – soldiers are risking themselves,” he said.
Baruch, who commands the Nahal Brigade, currently stationed near Gaza, said he is not sure whether or not his fellow commanders give similar orders.
His soldiers are not only told what to do in case of kidnapping, but actively train for such a scenario, he said. They are also told the importance of preventing terrorist infiltration and attacks on Negev farmers. Nahal troops arrested an infiltrator late Thursday afternoon close to Kissufim. He was brought to security forces for questioning. No injuries were reported in the incident.