Artillery Unit Outside Gaza Raises 26K Shekels In 2 Hours By Selling ‘Dedications’ On Shells

At least two dozen from Arab countries without official diplomatic relations with Israel.

Gaza Envelope, October 31 – A group of gun batteries providing smoke cover and targeting enemy positions and personnel with their ballistic fire reported today that in the last 24 hours, since opening up an online-payment channel and advertising on social media, they have brought in more than twenty-five thousand shekels – about six thousand US dollars – by offering Israelis and others to submit messages the soldiers write on the projectiles they launch into Gaza.

Members of the 244th Field Gunnery Battalion told reporters today that, on a lark, they decided to sell sponsorships of the artillery shells fired at Hamas targets – or smoke rounds to give IDF troops cover – to give Israelis a chance to have their words painted in marker on the shells. The whimsical idea ended up generating a windfall: as of this publication, the 244th has brought in NIS 26,850. The major commanding the unit said the men will use the funds to help several of its solders’ families who are struggling economically, especially with the men on reserve duty and unable to work as normal.

“It blew us away, so to speak,” acknowledged the major, who declined to give his name, under IDF regulations. “People really want to feel a part of this mission. We’re here to support the rescue of the hostages, to destroy Hamas, and to restore our deterrence. And some of the messages people have ‘bought’ to put on the shells are just hilarious.”

Sponsorship of a shell costs 50 shekels. The thousands of sponsorships came not just from Israel, but from all over the world: the US, the UK, South America, Australia, South Korea, Japan, India, Canada, South Africa, and, to the men’s surprise, at least two dozen from Arab countries without official diplomatic relations with Israel.

“We might have to delegate some of the messages to other battalions,” observed an artilleryman. “I spent part of my last time between shifts looking at the incoming messages, and there are definitely some I want to inscribe personally.”

“We’ve gotten plenty of repeats, but each one is paid for separately, so they each get their own ‘FAFO’-inscribed shell, for example,” added a comrade. “Obviously, there are plenty of ‘Regards from the Cohen Family’ or ‘The ton of Ofakim sends its best,’ and those are great, but my favorite so far is the sponsor or sponsors who bought like ten inscriptions and had us put the whole Tragedy of Darth Plagueis The Wise across them.”

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