Sergeant First Class (Res.) Eitan from the 5th Brigade spoke with Arutz Sheva-Israel National News about his experiences as an IDF reservist who reported to duty on October 7th.
"The soldiers are strong, we are strong, we know our mission, we know what we have to do, we trust our commanders, we trust our orders. The spirit is high. The people I met on the 7th of October are now family. You get close with your team really quickly, and when you're doing something this important, it feels good," Eitan explains.
Eitan recounts October 7th, when he and his fellow reservists were called to report for duty following the Hamas massacre: "I keep Shabbat, so I didn't have my phone on me, and I live in Zichron Yaakov in the north, so I didn't hear any sirens, I had no clue what was going on until I went to the synagogue. The rumors began; I immediately ran back home and saw that I was called for duty. I drove as fast as I could to Nachshonim, which was our base where all of the equipment was, and quickly learned about the atrocities that were happening. Immediately ready to jump into action. The next day, we were sent here (southern Israel)."
Eitan was among the soldiers to arrive at the scenes of the massacre in the days following the attack and was witness to the aftermath. He says that some smells and sights are still in his mind, but he and his fellow soldiers are strong despite this. "We are a strong group; we're there for each other, and when you have your friends and people around you, it makes everything easier to digest."
Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, Eitan moved to Israel nearly a decade ago; he says he has full support from back at home for what he is doing. "My family knows how important it is; they're Zionists, and they're happy I'm here doing what I believe in and defending the Jewish people, including them overseas; they see that we are protecting them as well."