"Get up! Get up! There's a war!" The company's deputy commander woke Uriel with a kick.
“Okay, okay", Uriel said, as he rolled over in bed.
The commander didn’t stop. He shouted: "Something big is going on. We’re going to be out of here by eight o'clock." Within minutes, Uriel Shukrun was standing in front of his soldiers, briefing them as they headed into battle.
"We’re about to encounter something we’ve never seen before”, Uriel told his soldiers on their way to the front lines. "There are terrorists in our settlements. We’ll eliminate them all, rescue the residents, and evacuate them. Please send a message to your parents and tell them that everything is fine, then turn off your phones and get ready to fight in full gear". Everyone listened, ready to follow him into the battle that awaited them.
From that moment on, Shukrun fought alongside his soldiers, rescuing more and more civilians at each stop and junction.
From the Nirim junction, at Nachal HaBesor, and all the way to Kibbutz Kissufim, Shukrun and his soldiers fought against dozens of terrorists. They suffered severe injuries, saved many civilians, and did everything in their power to restore security in the south of Israel. At one of the intersections, the Shukrun team saw a van that appeared to be driven by terrorists. They killed them, and suddenly the soldiers heard shouts and knocks from the trunk of the van. They hurried to open it, and out came a confused young woman who had run away from the party in Re’im. They also evacuated her from the area.
From there, they continued to Kibbutz Kissufim. As the team began to search the area, they suddenly came under heavy fire. They were ambushed by terrorists who were hiding behind a wall. Shukrun's team suffered very heavy losses. As the senior commander on the battlefield, Shukrun directed the fighting for hours. He continued to fight and make sure the wounded were evacuated, until he was hit. He was rescued in critical condition and flown to the hospital. This time he was fighting another battle; the battle for his own life.
Supported by his wife, who is also an IDF officer, Shukrun fought to regain his strength, knowing full well that the difficult price he paid enabled so many people - young and old, men and women - to live.
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