JERUSALEM (AP) — The Israeli military on Thursday acknowledged a string of errors in its response to the deadly Hamas attacks last Oct. 7, including slow response times and disorganization, as it released the results of its first investigation into failures during the assault that triggered the war in Gaza.
The report focused on the border community of Be’eri, where over 100 people were killed and more than 30 others taken hostage by Hamas. It was among the hardest-hit communities in the early morning attack, and it was the scene of one of the highest-profile confrontations of Oct. 7 – a standoff in which militants held a group of hostages inside a home.
“The army failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri,” the military’s chief spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, said in a televised address. “It is painful and difficult for me to say that.”
During the standoff, a tank fired at the home, raising concerns that the 13 hostages inside were killed by friendly fire. The military concluded that they were likely killed by Hamas militants, not Israeli shelling, though it was unclear how it reached that conclusion, and the report called for additional tests. The army said the kibbutz was overrun by about 340 Hamas fighters.
Investigators “determined that, based on the information reviewed and to the best of their understanding, no civilians inside the building were harmed by tank shell fire,” the report said, though it said two Israeli civilians were hit by shrapnel outside the building. One of those civilians died, according to the man’s wife.