Saying they had failures has to be one of the worst cover-ups in history. Israel let Hamas attack their citizens. Someone in Israel allowed it to happen by design. But let’s entertain the fake coming out of the IDF to cover it all up.
The Israeli military has admitted to failing in its duty to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri during the Hamas attack on October 7. An interim internal probe revealed that a combination of strategic unpreparedness and poor tactical coordination left the community vulnerable.
The report on Be’eri, where 132 civilians and service personnel were killed and 32 taken hostage, is the first of several Israel Defense Forces investigations released on Thursday. It found that the army “failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri” by not providing sufficient warning and leaving members of the 1,000-strong community to fend for themselves for hours before sending help.
The IDF’s probe into what unfolded at the Be’eri kibbutz on Oct 7 is merely the first chapter in a story of the military’s colossal and tragic failure, @jconricus tells @benitalevin pic.twitter.com/npbV2KXxCD
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) July 12, 2024
Because the military had only trained for lone events and not for a major attack by a large force targeting many communities and army bases simultaneously, its forces were deployed in a way that meant there were no troops on hand to dispatch to Be’eri, the probe said.
In other failures, amid the chaos, when Israeli troops did arrive they remained massed outside Be’eri and did not engage with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants rampaging through the kibbutz while others prioritized rescuing wounded soldiers over civilians, the IDF said, acknowledging that these decisions were colossal mistakes.
“It is painful and difficult for me to say this: the IDF should have protected the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri, but unfortunately we were not there during the long hours of the fighting,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told a press briefing.
Failure and slaughter: IDF’s Be’eri probe shows army’s colossal errors, residents’ bravery: Investigation into Hamas invasion of kibbutz, where 101 civilians and 31 security personnel died, shows disastrous response by military amid battle against… https://t.co/jwGemaaWsk pic.twitter.com/tId66nMCFm
— Global Voters (@global_voters) July 11, 2024
“For seven hours the residents of Be’eri protected their families with their bodies, when they were alone in front of the terrorists. It was the extraordinary bravery and resourcefulness of the residents that led to the stabilization of a defensive line during the first hours of fighting, stopping the attack from spreading to the rest of the kibbutz.
“Along with the emergency squad, the members of the local emergency team also acted bravely, directing the forces, forming an operational situation and helping the residents.”
However, the inquiry defended as “professional and responsible” the controversial decision by the commander on the ground that day, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, to shell a house where Hamas fighters were holding 14 hostages, killing at least one civilian and injuring a second.
Hagari said the shelling was aimed at enabling Israeli forces to storm the house, although only two survived the eventual rescue bid with the remainder most likely killed by their captors.
Hagari stressed that the investigation had been carried out as quickly as possible in order to provide answers to residents, families of the deceased and the abducted — and to enable the IDF to take action to correct its fighting and defense methods immediately.
101 civilians & 31 troops killed in Kibbutz Be’eri
IDF made multiple tactical failures
Over 3,000 rockets fired in Israeli territories on October 7 @SinghBhairavi brings you this report
Watch more: https://t.co/dm7SyC0z2e pic.twitter.com/BNU87evJBD
— WION (@WIONews) July 12, 2024
“This investigation is not the end of a process, it is the beginning,” he pledged.
Survivors and relatives who were briefed earlier welcomed the apparent transparency the IDF had demonstrated but criticized the inquiry for failing to investigate alternative courses of action its troops and commanders such as General Hiram could have taken. Others called for an independent state inquiry.
“The government brought about this situation, and they must be held to account,” said Rami Gold, a member of the Be’eri civilian response squad.
His call was echoed by Defense Minister Yoav Gallant who said that getting to the bottom of what happened on Oct. 7 and then implementing the right measures to correct the failings was “necessary for our continued existence.”
“To this end, we are required to investigate at the national level in order to rebuild public trust — this is a condition for our ability to carry out our tasks,” he said in a video posted on X.
Major Points
- The IDF admitted it failed to protect Kibbutz Be’eri during the October 7 Hamas attack, resulting in 132 deaths and 32 hostages due to poor warning and response.
- Strategic unpreparedness left the military unable to handle the large-scale attack, as forces were not available to respond promptly to Be’eri.
- Tactical errors included troops staying outside the kibbutz and prioritizing wounded soldiers over civilians, which was acknowledged as a significant mistake.
- Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram’s decision to shell a house with hostages, causing civilian casualties, was defended but remains controversial.
- Survivors and relatives called for an independent state inquiry, while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant emphasized the need for a national investigation to rebuild public trust and address military shortcomings.
Conner T – Reprinted with permission of Whatfinger News
