The Israeli military on Thursday published the findings of its first investigation into its security failures during the devastating October 7 Hamas attack, in which it admitted it did not protect civilians of Kibbutz Beeri, one of the worst-hit communities.
The attack on the Beri community, a population of about 1,000, killed more than 100 people and took 32 hostages to Gaza, 11 of whom are still there.
The military said the investigation looked at the day’s events, the fighting and the conduct of security forces. Some details have already been revealed by Reuters and other media in the weeks since the attack.
While acknowledging its failure to protect kibbutz civilians, the army praised the bravery of Be’eri residents, including their quick reaction team who, despite being vastly outnumbered, attempted to repel the invading militants.
The investigation found that the Israeli military was unprepared for the scenario of a large-scale infiltration of militants into Israel, had inadequate forces in the area, did not have clear information about the events until the afternoon, hours after the attack began, did not properly alert Beeri’s residents, and its fighting was uncoordinated.
However, the investigation found no fault in the tank firing on the house where the terrorists had taken about 15 people hostage. The incident was criticized in Israel for endangering civilians.
“When sounds of gunfire were heard from the house and the terrorists declared their intention to kill themselves and the hostages, the security forces decided to storm the house to rescue the hostages,” the army summary said.
“The team found that the civilians inside the house were not harmed by the tank shells,” the summary said, however, further investigation is needed to determine how the hostages inside the house died, as indications point to them being killed by gunmen.
The army presented the report to Beeri residents, many of whom are among the thousands of Israelis still displaced since October 7th.
“I didn’t need all these details,” said kibbutz member Miri Gad Mesika. “What matters to me is why what happened happened, how we can prevent it from happening again, how we can get our hostages back and how we can feel safe again.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
