A former JFS pupil has revealed details about his adrenaline-fuelled sea operations protecting Israel from Gaza terrorists — two weeks after receiving an award from the Israeli president for outstanding military service.

Speaking as Palestinian militants were gearing up to bombard Israel with rockets ahead of last week’s confrontation, Gabriel Knopf, 20, said that while his boat is out on patrol, situations can “quickly go from zero to 100”.

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Gabriel is a member of a 12-man crew on this type of IDF gunboat (Photo: Getty Images)

His 12-man vessel can get a call at any time from “intelligence teams”, he said, which may lead to direct engagement with terror groups seeking to smuggle operatives into Israel.

“We patrol the seas around Gaza so as to prevent anyone trying to break into the country or to the border,” he said.

There are always five boats out at sea at any one time, he said, and should anything happen, the situation can escalate rapidly.

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Gabriel Knopf receiving his excellence award (IDF)

Knopf, who dreamt of serving in the IDF since he was a child, said that it was after one of these exhausting missions when he learned that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had personally selected him to receive an award for his outstanding service — and that, having been deprived of sleep, he was initially confused and terrified.

He said: “We got back at 2am from 80 hours at sea. The head of my unit calls me into his office. I’m very scared and have no clue why. He congratulates me. And I haven’t slept in 30 hours, I didn’t even know what my name was. So I told him, ‘Tell me again tomorrow and I’ll be more excited.’”

Knopf, who made aliyah at the age of 18, was born and raised in Pinner. He attended the Moriah Jewish Day School for primary before moving to JFS for secondary school.

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Gabriel Knopf during his JFS schooldays

It was his parents’ dream to make aliyah, and Knopf (pictured above in his JFS days) eventually adopted that ambition for himself. He did so after finishing school, via the IDF’s Garin Tzabar programme, through which he enlisted into his current combat position.

“I knew since I was 11 years old that I wanted to join the army,” Knopf said. It was after seeing soldiers at a swearing-in ceremony that he first told his mother, Karen, of his ambition. “She said, ‘OK, are you sure? You’re 11 years old.’”

His answer was conclusive. That day, Knopf took a photograph of soldiers he saw and, nine years later, he recreated this exact shot with his current team, which is part of 916th Dabur Patrol Ship Fleet, based in Ashdod.

Neither he nor the IDF were prepared to disclose exactly what duties he has undertaken since hostilities escalated last week, citing security reasons, though they confirmed this was not his first conflict.

Knopf was one of just 120 soldiers to be given the President’s Excellence Award at a ceremony in Jerusalem, held on Israeli Independence Day.

His family, who he had not seen for months, flew to Israel to surprise him at the event on April 26. Karen is “beyond proud” of her son’s achievements but said he will always remain her “baby”.

“Gabe is strong-minded and strong-willed, pushing himself endlessly to achieve what he wants,” she said. “It is impossible to change his decision once he has set his mind on a goal. He will always be our baby, but he has done so much, we are beyond proud of him.

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Gabriel Knopf on the day he received his award (Photo: Handout)

Knopf suggested that he did not feel worthy of the award, saying it could have been “the luck of the draw”. But the IDF has insisted he is more than deserving.

“Out of 150,000 active soldiers, they picked 120,” said an IDF spokeswoman. “Gabriel really underplayed it.”

She added that Knopf’s commander, whose identity was not disclosed, said he “looks out for everyone” and that in his entire service he had “never encountered a person like Gabriel”.

Knopf said of his journey: “I moved to Israel with five words of Hebrew and I got an award for being an excellent soldier.

“I feel like it’s a little bit of proof that it can be done.”