>>509665100
"The next morning, we were sent on another house-clearing mission. We scanned the building with a drone and didn't see anything, so we went in. Two minutes later, there was an explosion. The blast threw me through the air, and I couldn't understand what had happened. Suddenly, I realized my mouth was full of blood. I thought I was wounded, but I wasn't – it was the blood of my best friend in the unit. He kept calling my name, begging me to help, but I didn't know what to do. I froze.
"Eventually the medics arrived and evacuated him. For days after, I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat – everything tasted like blood. We just kept going, clearing houses like nothing had happened, like everything was normal. Afterward, we were sent out of Gaza for a little while to 'refresh,' but I couldn't do anything. I felt like someone had taken part of my soul.