The terrorist attack, later called “Night of the Gliders”, took place on November 25, 1987. It was planned and organized by the terrorist group PFLP-GC under the leadership of Ahmad Jibril, who died yesterday in Damascus, may God erase his name from memory.
In the process of that terrorist attack one of the terrorists managed to cross the border into Israel from the Lebanese side. He killed the driver of a military van, wounded a female soldier and broke into the tent camp of the “Nahal” motorized infantry brigade once the soldier guarding the gate escaped.
When he broke into the camp, the terrorist opened fire and threw grenades, killing five more soldiers and wounding many more.
The soldier who succeeded in destroying the terrorist was a Chasid of Chabad soldier, Gideon Bashari, who served in the army warehouse and was responsible for ensuring that the armored personnel carriers in the unit were in good working order.
Gideon graduated from Kfar Chabad Technical School and received specialisation in “Book-printing” and was assigned to the “Nahal” as one of a group of Chabadniks who graduated from this school.
Gideon later recalled that he was in the tent with his commander that day when he received a report of a terrorist infiltration. Gideon immediately looked around, but saw nothing suspicious. Then they heard gunshots. Gideon jumped out of the tent and saw clouds of grenade smoke rising from where the guard was standing on the gate. [This grenade was thrown by a terrorist — author’s note.]
Inserting a magazine into his assault rifle on the run, Gideon rushed forward, trying to determine where the intruder was coming from. He ran toward the gunfire, catching sight of several wounded men lying on the ground. As he continued to search with his eyes for the source of enemy fire, he saw a grenade thrown at his comrades who were engaged in a firefight with the enemy. The grenade exploded in the midst of the fighters — three of them were killed, may God avenge their blood, and another was wounded.
Gideon rushed forward toward the enemy, not yet knowing exactly where the terrorist was hiding. Following that, he saw the terrorist run right at him and shoot. Falling to his knees, Gideon opened fire on the terrorist and at the same moment felt a sharp pain in his left arm, and then, almost immediately, felt several more bullets pierce his legs. Nevertheless, he continued firing at the enemy, who, in turn, was also firing, pushing closer and closer to Gideon. For a few moments more they engaged in a direct duel, shooting at each other.
By the grace of God Almighty, the bullets from Gideon’s assault rifle finally killed the terrorist. Gideon vividly remembers how the terrorist suddenly collapsed while running, and then, about four meters away from Gideon, jumped, rolled over, and fell to the ground. Gideon fired a full magazine at him...
By the grace of the Almighty, the second terrorist who had flown over the Lebanese border in a hang glider landed far from the base and was eventually eliminated by the IDF.