IDF, civil defense squad repelled terrorists at Kerem Shalom on Oct. 7, saving residents

On the morning of October 7, 2023, around 100 Hamas-led terrorists infiltrated the Kerem Shalom area on the southernmost section of Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.

Israeli troops stationed in the area eliminated dozens of terrorists outside Kibbutz Kerem Shalom, though some did manage to breach the community. Kerem Shalom’s local security team fought back, killing nine of the terrorists and repelling the attack, according to an Israel Defense Forces probe published Wednesday.

Four IDF soldiers and two local security officers were killed during the fighting in and around the kibbutz. Another nine troops and one civilian were wounded.

Heavy damage was also caused to several homes in the community, but no residents were murdered or abducted to Gaza.

The IDF probe into the attack on the Kerem Shalom area found that “army forces defended the kibbutz with great bravery throughout the day and repelled dozens of terrorists.”

Members of Kerem Shalom’s civil defense squad and medical teams “acted with courage and chose to engage,” the investigation stated. “The actions of the civil defense squad, in coordination with IDF forces, disrupted the enemy’s plan to kill and abduct residents.”

The findings published Wednesday are the latest in a series of detailed investigations into some 40 battles and massacres that took place during Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, when about 5,600 terrorists stormed across the border, killed some 1,200 people, and took 251 hostages into Gaza, where dozens remain captive.

Similar to other investigations, the probe concluded that the IDF “failed in its mission to protect” the residents of Kerem Shalom and those in the surrounding area, mainly because the military never prepared for such an event: an Israeli community being attacked by terrorists, as well as a widespread attack on numerous towns and army bases simultaneously by thousands of terrorists. The military also lacked an intelligence warning, and therefore, troops were unprepared for Hamas’s attack.

The probe, carried out by Col. Eylon Peretz — commander of the Yoav Regional Brigade — covered all aspects of the fighting in Kerem Shalom and the surrounding area.

The IDF said the investigators made visits to the scene and reviewed every possible source of information, including footage taken by terrorists, residents’ text messages, surveillance videos, the army’s radio communications, and interviews with survivors.

The Kerem Shalom probe was aimed at drawing specific operational conclusions for the military. It did not examine the wider picture of the military’s perception of Gaza and Hamas in recent years, which has been covered in separate, larger investigations into the IDF’s intelligence and defenses.

Timeline of the attack

Following Hamas’s initial barrage of rockets on southern Israel, a team of troops from the Nahal Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit, whose task was to defend Kerem Shalom, was mobilized. By 6:40 a.m., the troops, along with additional forces and commanders, headed to Kerem Shalom to defend it.

As the first terrorists were spotted approaching the border fence across from Kerem Shalom at 6:42 a.m., an IDF tank moved to a better position and opened fire on the terrorists. Moments later, Kerem Shalom’s civil defense squad was mobilized.

At 6:46 a.m., some 20 terrorists were spotted outside the kibbutz, and an infiltration alert was issued. IDF troops in three vehicles began to patrol inside the kibbutz in an attempt to locate any terrorists.

A major battle for Kerem Shalom began at 7 a.m., lasting some 30 minutes at three different locations.

First, IDF troops clashed with dozens of terrorists to the west of the kibbutz, during which one soldier, Staff Sgt. Yaron Shay, was killed, and two others were wounded.

Shortly after, the kibbutz’s security coordinator, members of the civil defense squad, and IDF troops engaged terrorists to the southwest of Kerem Shalom. The force killed several terrorists and successfully repelled the attack. Two soldiers were wounded in the exchange of fire.

Seven terrorists then breached the kibbutz’s perimeter wall and advanced toward homes. The civil defense squad engaged the terrorists, killing all seven by 7:30 a.m.

Warning: Graphic footage

Hamas terrorists are seen setting out from Gaza, breaching the Israeli border, and infiltrating Kibbutz Kerem Shalom on October 7, 2023. The video shows the terrorists randomly opening fire on homes and exchanging fire with local security officers. (South First Responders)

An hour later, at 8:30 a.m., additional terrorists approaching the entrance to the kibbutz were killed by IDF troops stationed in the area. Troops of the reconnaissance unit also fired on terrorists they spotted at a distance.

At around 9:33 a.m., the civil defense squad was dispatched to the east of the kibbutz after terrorists were spotted near the community’s solar farm. Several terrorists were killed there by the local security team, while IDF troops also fired on others approaching the entrance to the kibbutz.

Shortly after 10 a.m., an Israeli Air Force helicopter reached the kibbutz and struck dozens of terrorists who were to the east of the kibbutz and along a road leading to Gaza. The strikes halted the terrorists’ advance on the community from the east.

At 10:25 a.m., the civil defense squad was alerted of two terrorists in a home in the northwest of the community, where the family was holed up in their bomb safe room. The terrorists blew up the door to the safe room, seriously wounding the father, Amichai Shindler.

A firefight then ensued between the terrorists and the local security officers, during which two members of the civil defense squad, Yedidya Raziel and Amichai Weitzen, were killed, and both terrorists were eliminated. The family was also rescued.

Fighting continued outside the kibbutz, with the reconnaissance unit forces and local security officers, along with the IAF helicopter, blocking additional attempts by terrorists to infiltrate the community. One security officer was seriously wounded by an explosion amid the fighting.

At 11:15 a.m., six terrorists were spotted by soldiers monitoring surveillance cameras near the northwestern section of the kibbutz’s perimeter fence. An IAF drone struck them, killing some and forcing the others to retreat to Gaza.

At 11:34 a.m., a tank arrived at the entrance to the kibbutz and began to patrol the perimeter. Half an hour later, the tank joined up with the civil defense squad and entered the community.

At 1:20 p.m., the commander of the Paran Regional Brigade — which is tasked with the Egypt border — and troops of the Bislamach Brigade’s 450th Battalion joined up with the kibbutz security coordinator to search the community (Bislamach is the IDF’s School for Infantry Corps Professions and Squad Commanders during peacetime).

At 2:10 p.m., a barrage of four mortars from Gaza struck Kerem Shalom, killing a soldier, Sgt. Nathan Lyard, and injuring two others. Minutes later, a terrorist was spotted trying to infiltrate the kibbutz from the west. The Nahal troops and a tank fired on the terrorist, apparently killing him.

At unknown times during the day, Cpt. Tomer Shoham and Staff Sgt. Or Mizrahi were killed during fighting on the border and at an army post just outside Kerem Shalom, respectively.

Civilians were evacuated from the kibbutz during the night between October 7 and 8. Over the following week, several more exchanges of fire took place in the area surrounding the kibbutz, without any casualties to Israeli forces.