IDF probe said to find slow response on Oct. 7 allowed terrorists to enter Kfar Aza until 2 a.m.

Channel 12 publishes the initial findings of an IDF investigation into the Kfar Aza massacre on October 7, when terrorists massacred 64 kibbutz residents and kidnapped 19 people.

According to the initial investigation, which has yet to be finalized and released officially, the military’s response to the assault was slow and uncoordinated. Forces only came until proper management by Sunday morning and only managed to secure full control of the community by Tuesday midday.

One of the major failures of the military on the day was its inability to seal entrances to the kibbutz, which allowed up to 300 terrorists to infiltrate the community, from 6:30 a.m. on Saturday until 2 a.m. on Sunday.

Security forces waited at the kibbutz gates from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. while residents were massacred and kidnapped. It remains unclear why forces were not deployed inside the community immediately, according to the reported findings.

Additionally, the probe finds forces barely fought terrorists on Saturday night, for fear of casualties due to friendly fire.

Most of the community’s residents were only evacuated on Sunday, due to the slow deployment of forces across all the neighborhoods in the kibbutz. Amid the chaos, some residents were evacuated on routes where terrorists were still active, endangering their lives, according to the investigation.

Additionally, the investigation discovered an incident in which the military rescued bodies of dead soldiers while combat was ongoing and civilians had yet to be evacuated, the report says.