From the Liveblog of
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Report: Military probe finds it failed to properly respond to Nir Oz invasion on Oct. 7
The military has found that it failed to properly assess and respond to the invasion of terrorists in Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, according to findings reported by Channel 12 news.
According to Channel 12, the military found that the Gaza division failed to understand the situation at the kibbutz and did not properly manage forces on the day, with troops sent to neighboring communities but not Nir Oz itself.
In one of the major blunders, special forces on the way to Nir Oz encountered terrorists on the way to the battle, where an officer was killed at around 11 a.m.
The squadron was then redirected to another task, but the IDF’s Southern Command did not notify the Operations Directorate, and additional forces were not sent.
At 11:30 a.m., Egoz special forces that were dispatched to Kibbutz Kissufim and Nir Oz also encountered terrorists on the way and never arrived at their destination.
Southern Command did not find out about that incident until 1:30 p.m. Soldiers from the Shayetet special forces unit were then sent but only arrived at 2:20 p.m., by which time terrorists had managed to murder and kidnap dozens of people.
The 69-year-old kibbutz, located 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) from Gaza, lost more than a quarter of its 400 members on October 7, with 46 people murdered, including entire families, and 71 people taken hostage. Fourteen Thai citizens who worked at Nir Oz were also murdered that morning.
