Israeli military left kibbutz for hours during Hamas attack on October 7, an Israeli Defense Forces investigation found

The Israeli military has released an account of its failure to protect the residents of Be’eri, one of the communities hardest hit by the Hamas attack on October 7. The attack killed over 100 people and took dozens hostage, destroying large parts of the kibbutz.

The report, published on Thursday and based on an internal investigation, says the Israeli military “failed in its mission” to protect the kibbutz. a few kilometers from the border with the Gaza Strip, due to serious errors in Israel’s response to the multi-pronged attack.

The Israeli military, the investigation said, was not prepared for the “extensive infiltration scenario” that the militant group led that day, and had only trained for the possibility of isolated infiltrations.

This was despite reports that the Israeli military had reviewed a detailed draft of Hamas’ plans months before the attack. Early warnings from military analysts about the threat were ignored.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained steadfast throughout the war, despite calls for accountability and growing evidence that his government had overlooked or ignored important warnings about Hamas’s plans.

He has also rejected demands a comprehensive government investigation into Israel’s failures in connection with the October 7 attack.

Because the troops were not prepared for an attack like the one on October 7, the investigation found, there were “no additional reserve forces” in the area that could have been sent to Be’eri.

Instead, residents were forced to defend themselves for hours as militants swept through the area. According to Israeli authorities, 101 people were killed in the area and at least 30 were taken hostage.

“We are grateful that the army is taking responsibility and admitting its catastrophic failure in protecting us,” Kibbutz Be’eri said in a statement in response to the Israel Defense Forces report. “We are grateful for their apology for abandoning us for so many hours while we were subjected to constant and brutal attacks.”

“Although the investigation is a step toward answers, crucial questions remain unanswered,” it continued, “such as why the army forces at the kibbutz entrance did not enter the kibbutz despite our desperate pleas for rescue.”

“They left us to die”

Survivors of the attack on Be’eri reported hiding in their homes for hours, desperately trying to reach their relatives, while investigations revealed that more than 300 insurgents invaded the kibbutz, leaving their homes and buildings burned and destroyed, with the smell of death in the air.

“They left us to die,” Liel Fishbien, a Be’eri resident, told NBC News about the Israeli forces shortly after the attack.

More than nine months later, he said Friday that while he appreciated the results of the investigation, “I know they failed. The fact that they failed is nothing new to me.”

“Of course it is important to take responsibility, but what is more important to me is what they have learned so that something like this does not happen again,” he said.

The investigation found that not only were the Israeli forces unprepared for such an attack, but they also “had difficulty in producing a clear and accurate situational assessment” of the attack that unfolded in Be’eri that morning. They did not begin to grasp the reality of the situation until later in the afternoon, despite the fact that the municipality’s emergency response team had provided an updated assessment earlier in the day.

Even when security forces arrived at the entrance to the kibbutz, no fighting occurred due to isolated or contradictory orders, the investigation shows.

Some followed a command decision to “wait to evacuate civilians.” Others fought and then left the kibbutz on command orders, while others waited for a troop commander and others stayed outside the community to establish an exclusion zone.

“This lack of order characterized many of the fighting hotspots on October 7 and is currently being investigated as part of the general investigation,” the report said.

The investigation also found that there were “cases of IDF soldiers behaving inappropriately toward civilians,” particularly in the safety of residents evacuated from the area and “in the security forces’ provision of basic needs.” The statement did not elaborate on the inappropriate behavior documented.

However, the investigation appeared to clear commanders and officers of wrongdoing in one case, following speculation that hostages had been killed by Israeli military tank fire.

Security forces, the report said, decided to enter a house to rescue 13 hostages after gunshots were heard and militants “announced their intention to commit suicide and kill the hostages.”

It was said that the tank shelling near the house was carried out “professionally” after commanders of all security organizations made a joint decision to put pressure on the insurgents and “save the hostages”.

The investigation team found that no civilians were harmed by tank shell fire inside the building, except for an isolated incident outside the building in which two civilians were injured by shrapnel. IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said separately that it was “very likely that one of them was killed.”

It was not immediately clear what exact information led investigators to this conclusion, but the team concluded that “most of the hostages were probably murdered by the terrorists,” but added that further investigation and verification of additional evidence was necessary.

The Israeli military’s response to the Hamas attack had been under scrutiny since early October, with questions raised as to whether civilians might have been killed in the army’s panicked response.

When asked by NBC News at a late October press conference showing footage of the October 7 attacks whether it was possible that civilians had been caught in the crossfire of the Israeli military’s response, IDF Major General Mickey Edelstein said it was possible that “mistakes” had been made.

Despite “operational errors and mistakes in the deployment of troops,” the investigation should also highlight “heroic acts” and courage of the Israeli forces, security personnel and kibbutz residents.

On Friday, the kibbutz said in a statement that many of its community members remain “refugees in our own country” after their homes were destroyed.

Fishbien, who lives in Jerusalem, said he would one day like to return to the restored Be’eri and “build a life” there, but that possibility seemed out of reach. He said he no longer felt safe and was not convinced that Israel’s leadership had shown a “deep understanding” of the lessons of Oct. 7 and the ongoing war.

“I can’t imagine ever living there again,” he said.

The findings of the Israeli military’s investigation came as Israeli forces continued operations throughout the Gaza Strip. Fighting broke out again in Gaza City after the military ordered residents to evacuate the area and move south.

Biden said on Thursday that progress had been made in efforts to negotiate a ceasefire, but there were still “gaps” that needed to be closed.