run out of food and they are even short of clothing. It will be a con-voy of twenty trucks. We are taking a new route and will break through the Egyptian lines between Iraq al-Manshiyya and Qubeiba. The jeeps will be divided into two groups: four at the front of the con-voy and three at the rear. We will use two small radio sets for internal communication and two large ones for contact with the base. The convoy will be under the command of someone from Palmach. I will be in charge of the jeeps."
Elieser pauses and smiles. He knows that what is coming is the most important part.
"We hand over the trucks to the Negev Animals3 at a rendezvous north of Ruchamah.4 If everything goes smoothly, we will take the same way back. Then we pack our things and leave this shi... place. We return to battalion HQ."
* * *
The jeeps steal out into the night. We sit in silence, thinking about the operation ahead of us. For many months we have been fighting over the Negev, but have never actually been in the Negev itself. This night we will break through the thin Egyptian line separating our southern front from the Negev.
We know from experience that it doesn’t take much more than a little courage to drive between two Egyptian positions in the dead of night. But for a long convoy with umpteen trucks it is rather a differ-ent matter. Is it possible that the Egyptians would not guard the road that carries all their supplies and which connects their position from Majdal to Beit Jibrin?
A jeep is a special kind of "weapon" which is very vulnerable. Its only defense is speed and agility. But this time we will be attached to the clumsy trucks. Still, our morale is high. Not many know how weak our forces in the Negev are at this moment. We have already transported food to besieged and hungry Jerusalem. And this time too, we will bring our fighting comrades what they need.
If we get involved in a fight tonight and cannot return by the same route, we will have to stay in the Negev for some time.
Jassir and Gat are behind us. Ahijah, the commander of our squad, is at the wheel. I am sitting next to him as the forward machine gunner. In the back sits Moshe Kimpinski, our radio operator. He holds a machine gun with one hand and the radio