(Day 567) Swords of Iron – “Alive, But Missing An Arm”

In this video, which is a re-broadcast of a video Chaim posted very early in the war, he is answering some questions that have been posed to him about what is going on in Israel, what the IDF is doing to prepare for operations in the Gaza Strip and how things are looking on the Israeli home front.

He starts by giving a general description of the “very dark times” Israel is going through.

He also introduces himself, saying that he made Aliyah with his family when he was a child and grew up in Israel. He is a Sgt. Major in the Ya’alom Special Missions unit of the IDF. He mentions that he is only one of 360,000 IDF reservists have been called up to fight in this war, which was started by the Hamas attack on October 7th. He adds that other enemies of Israel, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and also Iran-backed forces in Syria have jumped in, firing rockets into Israel and declaring their intention to do even worse things. Iran itself was also making threats, even in those early days of the war.

Chaim also says that those who justify the Hamas attack are complicit in the crimes against humanity that Hamas carried out on that day and he adds that many Israeli Arabs have chosen a life of peaceful co-existence and cooperation with the State of Israel and have a good standard of living because of it. But Hamas in Gaza have rejected that path and they trained and prepared for years to launch this attack against Israel, which included wholesale executions, rape, and even burning people alive.

Chaim says his IDF unit was tasked with doing investigations of the scene and he saw many ugly things, including “more dead bodies than I ever want to see in my whole life” and he says that for the sake of Israel and the Palestinians, this diabolical terror regime of Hamas must be destroyed and dismantled.

Another question he answers is about how the IDF tries to minimize civilian casualties. He says that IDF soldiers are trained to know the difference between an armed terrorist and a non-combatant. He also makes the point that the IDF is a defensive force whose only purpose is to defend the State of Israel and its people. There’s no mission set to go out and conquer territory or destroy anyone else’s state. It’s only here to defend what Israel has already built.

Beyond that, there is a concept in the IDF of “purity of arms” which means that the weapons and equipment given an IDF soldier by the Army are meant to only be used in a certain way that is designed to minimize the harm to civilians that is a tragically unavoidable part of any war.

He adds that the IDF goes to extreme lengths to warn civilians to get out of harms way before launching attacks and no other army in the world does similar things, and no other army is dealing with a situation so complicated. But the IDF gets no credit for this from its many critics, who simply act as if any and all civilian deaths that occur in any war the IDF is fighting were carried out deliberately with malicious intent.

Next he answers a question about how he and his fellow IDF soldiers are feeling. He responds by saying that everyone is in shock and many are mourning their friends and relatives who were killed or wounded in the attack. Some are scared to be going to war, and worried about their families who are under rocket fire. There are also fears that there will be a multi-front war, with attacks coming from Lebanon, Syria, etc. But this is mixed with a grim determination to destroy Hamas and restore deterrence against Israel’s many enemies.

Speaking of which, the next question is about the possibility of a change in strategy and Chaim says there is no wavering, it’s “judgement day for Hamas” as they have terrorized Israel and oppressed their own people.

Next he answers a question about Israeli attacks on the Damascus airport, which he says was done in order to cut off supplies to Hezbollah from Iran.

Next he answers a question about himself, what he does when he’s not in the IDF. He says that he’s the Chairman and CEO of the Aliyah Return Center, which helps new immigrants to Israel get settled in the country. But in the current emergency, the ARC is also helping families who had to flee their homes because of rockets and terrorist attacks. The ARC was also instrumental in getting supplies to IDF soldiers who needed it quickly and the Army wasn’t able to provide it right away. This was the ARC’s “Emergency Aid Initiative” and it helped a lot of people get what they needed in the emergency that this unexpected war created here in Israel.

He concludes by thanking his viewers and supporters for donating to the ARC and also for all their prayers and other support to Israel and the IDF.