From the Liveblog of
Monday, July 8, 2024
IDF chief presented with results of military probe into Oct. 7 battle at Kibbutz Be’eri, including tank fire on home
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The results of an IDF probe into the onslaught and battle on October 7 in the border community of Kibbutz Be’eri, during which tanks shelled a house where Hamas was holding hostages, was presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi earlier today.
The presentation to Halevi lasted several hours, due to the investigation being highly detailed, according to a military source. The fighting at Be’eri, one of the largest Gaza-border communities, included numerous incidents and many different Israeli units were involved.
The probe, carried out by Maj. Gen. (res.) Mickey Edelstein, a former commander of the Gaza Division, covers all aspects of the fighting in the kibbutz that day, including the incident at Pessi Cohen’s house.
As the IDF fought to regain control of the Gaza border communities, Brig. Gen. Barak Hiram, the commander of the IDF’s 99th Division, ordered a tank to fire on Cohen’s home, where terrorists were holding 14 hostages.
The tank fired two shells toward the house. Of the 14 who had been held hostage, 13 were killed in the intense firefight between Israeli troops and the Hamas terrorists. It remains unclear how many of the 13 had been harmed by the tank fire.
The probe is expected to provide a large number of details of the incident at Pessi Cohen’s house.
Before the war, Hiram was tapped to be the next commander of the Gaza Division, a move that appears to currently be on hold, subject to the results of the Be’eri investigation.
By Thursday, the probe will be reviewed and finalized by Halevi, and then presented to members of the kibbutz and families of those who were killed in Be’eri on October 7.
The IDF will hold the presentation at one of the hotels at the Dead Sea, where displaced members of Be’eri have been staying since October 7. The army will also send individual representatives to the families of those killed in the kibbutz.
The military will also set up a website where the findings will be made publicly available, and it will be updated over time with additional investigations into the battles on October 7.
The IDF hopes to present all the battle investigations by the end of August.
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