A soldier who lost his dog tag and wallet during the 2014 war in Gaza got them back this week after soldiers fighting in the Strip found both during combat in the city of Khan Younis.
Yedid Ackerman lost his belongings during Operation Protective Edge, the worst conflict in the enclave until this year’s war, after being injured by a mortar shell, Hebrew-language news site Ynet reported Thursday.
Ackerman was treated by medics in the field after being hit by shrapnel, and his items were left behind when he was evacuated.
Terror group Hamas subsequently uploaded a video clip in which a man speaking in Arabic-accented Hebrew displayed the wallet along with Ackerman’s ID, health fund membership card, and bus pass. At the end of the clip, the man winked, and said, “Hi, Ackerman, friend.”
Ynet published the clip at the time and spoke to Ackerman, who was not overly troubled by the loss and suggested the terror group could use any money they found inside for medicine.
This week, a deputy commander of the Givati Brigade’s Rotem Battalion, who the army identified only as Maj. Idan, returned the wallet and the dog tag to Ackerman, who is performing reserve duty during the current war.
“I was a bit shocked,” Ackerman told Ynet. “It’s been nearly a decade. It’s very symbolic.”
Idan said that while searching for Hamas weapons, money and infrastructure in Khan Younis, soldiers entered a building and spotted the wallet and dog tag among piles of AK-47 rifles and other military ware.
“We’re bringing closure after nearly 10 years,” said Idan. “For us returning the dog tag sends a message.”
The Rotem Battalion was called to the southern city of Sderot on October 7, the day that thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdering 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and kidnapping some 240.
It spent three days in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which sustained heavy losses during the Hamas onslaught, and then entered the Gaza Strip, moving through the Shati camp and the outskirts of Jabaliya in the north, before reaching Khan Younis in the south.