Citation of merit awarded to officer killed in Gaza operation gone awry

The IDF officer killed in a Gaza raid late last year has been awarded a citation of merit for his actions during the operation, the army says.

The commendation — known in Hebrew as a tzalash — was presented to the family of the officer, who for security reasons can only be identifed by his rank and first initial of his Hebrew name: Lt. Col. “Mem.”

The IDF says Mem earned the citation of merit for “acting with his team behind enemy lines, with determination, level-headedly and courageously in order to defend his comrades with initiative and fearlessness, for taking a lead role in dominating the enemy and for acting wisely in moving to dominate [the enemy].”

The award was presented to Mem’s parents, wife and children in his family home by IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi.

Mem was part of a special forces team carrying out an intelligence operation within the Gaza Strip. The team was caught by members of the Hamas terror group in the Gaza city of Khan Younis, leading to a firefight and a complicated rescue effort, in which Mem was killed by friendly fire, according to an IDF investigation.

Mem’s actions were credited with being crucial to this largely successful rescue operation.

“He made a decision through which he was able to create the conditions so that the situation would not deteriorate into a crisis with strategic implications,” Kohavi says during the ceremony.

— Judah Ari Gross

הבוקר התקיים טקס הענקת צל"ש הרמטכ"ל לסגן-אלוף מ' ז"ל על פועלו במבצע המיוחד בחאן יונס. משפחתו של סא"ל מ' ז"ל קיבלה את אות הכבוד בשמו לזכר פעילותו במבצע בו פעל עם צוותו, בשטח אויב, בנחישות, קור רוח ואומץ, להגנה על חבריו מתוך יוזמה וחתירה למגע.
https://t.co/CuYyTRejAu pic.twitter.com/rAg6oU3dAR

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) September 22, 2019