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Trip to the center of the war in the Middle East: We accompany a unit of the Israeli army to Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Already on the way there: nothing but devastation.
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL
:
»I'm already in Gaza on the first embed with the IDF, on the way in the back of a Hummer off-road vehicle.
On the way to Chan Younis to visit a field hospital and speak to a doctor.
And we have to see how much we hear, including about the heavy fighting that is currently taking place in Khan Yunis and probably not far away."
The press trip to the Gaza Strip took place at the end of January.
The filming had to be approved by the Israeli army - and went through censorship.
The first stage leads to a repair area for tanks and heavy vehicles - the press team changes here.
Entire blocks of flats around the square were leveled and the rubble was bulldozed.
For security reasons, as the soldier Ori explains.
Ori, soldier:
"We wanted to make sure that no one from the surrounding buildings would shoot at us."
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
“So what do you do?”
Ori, soldier:
»Either we search the houses, then the soldiers can go in.
Or we tear it down if we believe there is a threat coming from there.”
What we see resembles a lunar landscape.
Shots can be heard again and again in the background.
To drive further into the so-called inner danger zone, an off-road vehicle is no longer sufficient - it is armored.
Soldier:
"It's always dangerous in the Gaza Strip.
But you’re safe with us!”
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
»For the last section we switched to an armored troop transport.
And now we're sitting here like sardines waiting for it to start - at this very moment.
The troop transport goes to the center of Khan Yunis.
The international press should get an impression of everyday life during the war.
The announced field hospital turns out to be an improvised base.
The doctor Dikla Matzliach describes the situation.
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
“Are there still a lot of snipers around here?”
Dikla Matzliach, doctor:
»Yes, everywhere.
That’s why we’re not allowed to go up to the roof or leave the shelter here.”
It is the first war for the 43-year-old reservist.
The head and neck surgeon has been in Gaza for a month and is constantly on duty:
Dikla Matzliach, doctor:
»There are many injuries to the head and neck area.
Because as you can see, I’m well protected here, but my head and neck are mostly unprotected.”
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
“Your specialty.”
Dikla Matzliach, doctor:
“Exactly.”
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
“Did people die during your operations here in Gaza?”
Dikla Matzliach, doctor:
“No.”
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
“You were able to save everyone?”
Dikla Matzliach, doctor:
“
Yes.”
But there are not only successes.
One of the doctor's colleagues resigned after a particularly traumatic case:
Dikla Matzliach, doctor:
»There was a case of a commander who received a direct shot in the head.
There's no way to describe what it's like to ride in a vehicle for half an hour with a patient who has no head left.
Often you know the soldier, maybe it's a neighbor, a friend, maybe even a brother.
«
Shots can be heard repeatedly in the background during the interview.
Contrary to the initial announcement, the journalists can still move around in the improvised base.
They are in an active combat zone; just a few hundred meters away, a grenade was fired at Israeli troops just an hour earlier.
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
»We are safe here, but there is fighting everywhere and it is fascinating and, yes, also frightening when you imagine that the Hamas leadership is very close here, probably in the tunnels of Khan Junis is sitting there, possibly holed up behind Israeli hostages."
Soldier:
"It's difficult when you think about how close the enemies are here.
You can only see them when they come out of their tunnels, attack us and then quickly disappear again.
You don't see the enemy, but he is always around you and we always have to be on the alert.
The Israeli army says it has already killed around 10,000 Hamas terrorists.
But the organization is not yet defeated.
A squad comes from deployment.
The spoils: Hamas propaganda.
They didn't find any fighters.
But the soldiers are not discouraged.
Soldier:
"Until all the hostages are free, we will continue to put pressure on them and continue to search for them, find information and find the terrorists.
And that's all we can do.
I wish I had a better answer, but at this point it's all we can do."
Our stay in the Chan Yunis battle zone is over after about five hours.
Time for the international press to head back before darkness falls and the danger situation worsens.
The lasting impression of the stay is the extreme destruction.
End of a strange press event.
Thore Schröder, DER SPIEGEL:
»
Interestingly, not a single commander wanted or was allowed to speak to us.
Apparently, our impression is that the Israeli army is currently struggling to be open with the press and talk about how to wage this war.
And so it was simple soldiers who we spoke to and who explained to us that they were actually still fully behind this war, but that they were also very tired after more than three months, and that they wanted to go back to theirs Families, into their jobs.
And on the subject of destruction, they explained to us that Hamas simply shot at them from everywhere, that there were tunnel shafts and exits everywhere.
And that it was only possible to go in there with this massive destruction.
And so you can imagine how hard the fighting is right now, especially in Khan Yunis.”