Two weeks in Gaza, through one Israeli soldier's eyes
HERZLIYA, Israel — Alon Keren, 21, spent two weeks in uniform inside Gaza, then got a two-day furlough last month when Israel and Hamas agreed to a brief cease-fire.
"First thing was the laundry," he says about his quick visit home, sitting in the backyard of his parents' house in Herzliya next to a heat lamp and citrus trees. "Good showers, good food, good sleep, good friends."
He had to report back to Gaza the following morning.
Keren is one of hundreds of thousands of reservists who have been called up to serve in the Israeli army following Hamas' Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, which Israel says killed 1,200 people. His job is to bring supplies in and out of Gaza for the 20 combat soldiers in his commando unit.
"Someone had to do it," he says. "It's a small
