(Jerusalem) The Israeli army acknowledged its “failure” during the bloody Hamas attack on Kibbutz Beeri on October 7, in a report released Thursday after being presented to village residents, who demanded the establishment of a state commission of inquiry.
In the document, which details the soldiers’ actions during the attack, the commission of inquiry, led by a former general, claims that the army “failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Beeri.”
Located about four kilometers east of the barrier erected by Israel along its border with the Gaza Strip, the site was the scene of a massacre of civilians on the morning of October 7.
According to the military report, 101 civilians were killed, 32 people were taken hostage, 11 of whom are still in the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas since 2007.
In addition, 150 houses and buildings in the collectivist village were destroyed, most of them burned down.
During the fighting, 23 soldiers and eight policemen were killed, according to the report, which states that “340 terrorists had infiltrated the kibbutz.”
In the conclusion of the 11-point report, the army claims “not to have been prepared for a scenario of a massive infiltration like that of October 7” and also recognizes “a lack of coordination” between its troops on the ground.
“The investigation was thorough and helped the kibbutz members understand the complexity of the fighting in the different sectors. We consider it very important that the army took responsibility for its total failure to protect us and asked for forgiveness for abandoning us for so many hours, while we were under an evil attack without equal,” the kibbutz said in a statement.
In the statement, Beeri demanded the establishment of a state commission of inquiry so that “the incredible loss” of the kibbutz “cannot happen again.”
Failure and disaster
One of the questions raised by the report, according to Beeri’s statement, is the lack of answers on several “critical” points, such as what led to the attack and the fact that for hours, soldiers stationed outside the kibbutz did not enter to fight the Hamas gunmen, while “the kibbutz was burning and its residents were begging for help.”
One of the most dramatic incidents that took place during the fighting resulted in the death of 13 civilians, taken hostage in the house of a resident of Beeri, which was targeted by Israeli tank fire.
Army spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a televised statement Thursday night that “the majority of the hostages were killed by the terrorists” and that the troops held negotiations before firing into the house.
He also acknowledged that the people of Beeri had to defend themselves and “fight alone for seven hours”, confirming the testimonies describing the inaction of hundreds of soldiers waiting for orders.
The unprecedented attack carried out by Hamas commandos, infiltrated from Gaza into southern Israel, resulted in the death of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
Of the 251 people abducted, 116 are still being held in Gaza, 42 of whom are dead, according to the army.
In response, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and launched a military offensive that has so far killed 38,345 people, including 50 in the last 24 hours, mostly civilians, according to data from the Gaza government’s health ministry.
This first investigation “does not reflect everything that happened that day, but it clearly illustrates the extent of the failure and disaster that struck the inhabitants of the south who defended their families with their bodies for many hours while the army was not there to protect them,” concludes the chief of staff of the Israeli army in this report.