IDF releases October 7 probe into battle for Kerem Shalom

The IDF released the operational investigation it conducted on the battle in Kibbutz Kerem Shalom on Wednesday.

The investigation team determined that the IDF "failed in its mission to defend Kerem Shalom," but said that "the military forces fiercely defended the kibbutz throughout the day and repelled dozens of terrorists. The activity of the readiness squad, combined with IDF soldiers, thwarted the enemy's plan to kill and kidnap residents."

Six security forces personnel were killed during the battle; nine soldiers and a citizen were injured.

The investigation, conducted by Colonel Eyalon Peretz, found that the kibbutz was attacked by about a hundred terrorists in several waves of attack. The military forces eliminated dozens of terrorists in the area outside the kibbutz. Although the kibbutz was infiltrated by the terrorists, the readiness squad managed to eliminate nine terrorists and repel the attack. The kibbutz's houses suffered severe damage and they are still being rebuilt and rehabilitated.

On the evening of the surprise attack, the Nahal Brigade's 934th Reconnaissance Battalion operated in the Kerem Shalom sector. With the onset of the terrorists' attack, at 6:29 am, the terrorists infiltrated Israeli territory by vehicle and on foot. Within minutes, the soldiers were under an organized attack, in which the battalion was significantly outnumbered.

Stage A: Terrorists attack the kibbutz

At 6:34 am, following rocket alarms, the civil defense force was mobilized from Nachal Brigade. Command cars from the battalion zone, command cars from the company zone, and command cars from the reserve company made their way to Kibbutz Karm Shalom.

At 6:42 am, the forces received the first report of terrorists approaching the border fence near the kibbutz. As a result, a tank advanced to a controlling position east of the kibbutz and began firing at the terrorists. A few minutes later, the kibbutz's readiness team was mobilized.

Observation posts and battalion forces identified about 20 terrorists near the kibbutz and a penetration warning was declared for the kibbutz at 6:46 am. Three APCs began to patrol inside and around the kibbutz to form a situation picture and locate terrorists. Meanwhile, the battalion commander ordered the two platoon APCs to defend the kibbutz together with the readiness squad and the settlement defense force, which was stationed permanently in the kibbutz.

The brigade commander went to assist the one of the platoon, which lost a soldier, at 6:56 am.

Stage B: The first wave of the attack on the kibbutz (09:33-06:56)

07:00 The first battle for the kibbutz began. It lasted about half an hour and included three combat hotspots. The first clash was of the APC force of Karem Shalom platoon, with dozens of terrorists west of the kibbutz. Exchanges of fire developed on the spot, during which one fighter was injured and killed, and the commander and the APC driver were injured. A few minutes later, the kibbutz's senior emergency official, a community defense force, and the APC of the Atuda platoon encountered terrorists attempting to infiltrate the southwest of the kibbutz. There, fire exchanges took place, during which the APC commander and another fighter were injured. The force managed to eliminate the terrorists.

And to repel the terrorist attack at this point.

The commander of the 'Kerem Shalom' unit engaged in fire exchanges with numerous terrorists and called the standby force in order to assist him. The standby force extricated the soldiers of the Kerem Shalom unit. At 07:34, he made his way to the "Amitai" camp to bring reinforcements and ammunition, with the aim of returning to the battle in the kibbutz.

In parallel to the battles fought by the Nahal soldiers, terrorists began to infiltrate the kibbutz through a breach they created in the perimeter wall of the kibbutz, and fired towards the residents' houses. In a short time, exchanges of fire began between them and the members of the readiness squad who arrived at the scene. The battle ended at 07:30 after the elimination of seven terrorists.

At 08:30, a number of terrorists arrived in the area between the kibbutz gate and the southern post. The soldiers fired at them and eliminated them. Following the report about the arrival of the terrorists, the post was reinforced with two additional combatants. Afterwards, for about an hour, intense combat did not take place in the kibbutz, and the forces carried out searches in the kibbutz and were spread out in the area.

In two additional cases, Nahal reconnaissance soldiers detected terrorists near Kibbutz Yir'on, but no battle ensued.

Stage 3: Second wave

Following the identification of terrorists, the community's security patrol was summoned to the east of the kibbutz and deployed in front of the solar farm at 9:33 am. Exchanges of fire occurred at the site, during which several terrorists were killed through the kibbutz's fences. Simultaneously, several terrorists moved through the solar farm towards the kibbutz's gate. The soldiers stationed there fired at them.

At 10:10 pm, an IAF aircraft arrived at the kibbutz and attacked dozens of terrorists in the open area east of the kibbutz, the solar farm and along the axis leading to the system fence. The attacks stopped the terrorist attack from the east.

The kibbutz caused them to yield.

At 10:25 pm, members of the emergency patrol team were called to a family home in the north-west of the kibbutz, following a report of hearing voices in Arabic. It turned out that the terrorists were inside the house, while the family was trapped in the bomb shelter. The terrorists blew up the bomb shelter door, and as a result, the father of the family was seriously injured.

Meanwhile, terrorists outside the kibbutz began to shoot at the members of the readiness squad who were near the house, and a firefight developed with the two terrorists who were in the family's house and with terrorists who were outside the kibbutz. During the exchange of fire, two members of the readiness squad were injured and killed. The readiness squad killed the two terrorists who had barricaded themselves in the house and rescued the family members.

The exchange of fire between the emergency response team members and the settlement defense soldiers, and the terrorists outside the kibbutz continued even after the family was evacuated. The forces prevented the terrorists from infiltrating the kibbutz. During the battle, a member of the response team was seriously injured due to an explosion.

At 11:15 am, a cell of six terrorists was identified by observers near the fence of the kibbutz in the northwest corner. Two aircraft were directed to the location, which eliminated a number of terrorists and caused the rest to retreat. Up until around 11:30 am, there were exchanges of fire with terrorists outside the kibbutz wall, while at the same time, the readiness team was busy evacuating the injured, who were treated by the kibbutz's medics and a doctor who was hosted there.

Stage D: Additional forces arrive

At 11:34 am, a tank arrived at the kibbutz gate and began to patrol. About half an hour later, the tank joined the readiness team and entered the kibbutz.

At 1:20 pm, the commander of the brigade and the kibbutz security chief met, with reinforcements arriving from the 450th Battalion.

Four rockets hit the kibbutz at 2:10 pm, killing a soldier from the 450th Battalion and wounding two others. A few minutes later, a terrorist attempting to infiltrate the kibbutz from the west was identified. A Nahal reconnaissance unit shot at him and later the tank neutralized him.

The evacuation of the residents from the kibbutz took place on the night between October 7 and 8. In the following week, several more incidents occurred in the area close to the kibbutz.

Main conclusions of the investigation:

The IDF failed to defend the area of Kerem Shalom and the residents who lived there.

• The Gaza brigade was beaten for several hours, meanwhile the command and control system collapsed as a result of the commander being killed. Consequently, the brigade activity and the regiment commander's control of the situation was disrupted and did not operate properly in the first hours of the attack.

• Command and Control: In the early morning hours, the command chain was damaged from the department level to the southern brigade, which led to great difficulty in initiating counter attacks in the field and a lack of coordination in defending settlements, including Kerem Shalom.

• Width of the attack: The enemy's attack was carried out across the entire Gaza division, where in the Kerem Shalom sector alone, the enemy penetrated through 11 breaks in the fence; this fact made it difficult for the forces to arrive and defend the settlements. The heavy attack on Camp Amitai, which began simultaneously with the attack on the kibbutz, prevented the Kerem Shalom squadron and the reservist squadron from going out to defend the settlements.

• Conduct of the forces: The forces of the Nahal reconnaissance troops, in addition to the tank forces, observers, battalion commanders, members of the kibbutz readiness class, and the air force, worked throughout the day with bravery, courage, and professionalism against waves of terrorist attacks.

The command squad of the Kerem Shalom IDF Battalion and the command squad of the auxiliary battalion repelled the main terrorist attack in the south-west of the kibbutz in the first wave. The soldiers of these squads fought bravely, striving for contact, and some of them were killed and wounded while defending the kibbutz.

• Management of the order of forces: The decision of the 934th Battalion commander to concentrate effort and reserve forces in defending Kerem Shalom delayed the enemy's attack on the kibbutz and reduced the number of terrorists who infiltrated in the first wave.

• Operational split: The enemy's attack on the Amitai camp, which began simultaneously with the attack on the kibbutz, prevented the Kerem Shalom unit and the reserves unit from going to defend the settlements.

• Air Force operations: The Israel Air Force, with an emphasis on the combat helicopter system, hit many terrorists around the kibbutz and the access roads to it, thus significantly reducing the damage to the kibbutz. However, the Air Force was overall deficient in relation to the scope of the attack.

• The local emergency team: The local emergency team operated effectively, assisted in evacuating and treating the injured, transmitted messages about casualties, and helped evacuate the kibbutz residents. However, the investigation indicates that the team should have informed the kibbutz residents in real-time about the presence of terrorists within it.

The investigation team affirmed the decision by regional commanders to concentrate efforts and reserve forces in the defense of the kibbutz, a decision that delayed the enemy's attack on the community and reduced the number of terrorists who infiltrated in the first wave.

The investigative team praised the activities of the civilian security team's chief, members of his readiness squad, and the fighters from the 934th Battalion. They acted with courage, sought contact, hit the enemy, and repelled waves of terrorists time after time. Their actions prevented more severe damage and thwarted the terrorists' intentions to harm and kidnap kibbutz members.

• The actions of the members of the readiness team on that day serve as an example and model for the defense of communities.

• The investigation noted that the actions of the medics and doctor in the kibbutz under fire were commendable and led to the saving of human lives.

From Kibbutz Kerem Shalom it was reported: "We thank the IDF for taking responsibility in presenting the investigation, admitting failures and even apologizing for them to us. However, we expect that senior commanders who served in roles in the years leading up to the event and during it, will take personal responsibility for the failure and the disaster.

We appreciate the diligent and professional investigative work led by Eylon Peretz.

"The investigation findings reinforced what we knew and proved that we survived thanks to the bravery of the emergency squad led by Eli Ben Shimol, and a handful of Nahal recon soldiers who fought within the kibbutz for many hours. Despite the delay in the arrival of the air force, their arrival had a substantial impact in halting enemy forces and preventing the infiltration of hundreds more terrorists. At the same time, Nahal recon soldiers and tankers operating around the kibbutz did their best against dozens of terrorists, fighting bravely and with a great deal of courage."