New footage shows harbor security unit foiling Hamas naval infiltration on October 7

Snapir sailors on Defender-class boats kill terrorists trying to reach Israel’s shore during assault

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Sailors of the Snapir unit kill Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)
Sailors of the Snapir unit kill Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip, October 7, 2023. (Israel Defense Forces)

New footage released by the Israel Defense Forces on Saturday showed members of the Navy’s Snapir unit killing Hamas terrorists attempting to infiltrate into Israel from the Gaza Strip via the sea on the morning of October 7.

During the onslaught last weekend, Hamas fired thousands of rockets and sent gunmen into Israeli communities and military bases by land, sea and air, killing at least 1,300 people, most of them civilians.

The new video showed that after Hamas speedboats were sunk by Dvora-class patrol boats of the 916th Patrol Squadron, the Snapir sailors on small Defender-class boats opened fire and used depth charges against the surviving terrorists, as well as Hamas divers.

The IDF said the attackers attempted to swim toward the Israeli coast.

“Snapir fighters opened fire on the terrorists, amid a naval pursuit. The fighters thwarted a number of terrorists at sea, and from there they continued to thwart terrorists when they reached the coastline,” the IDF said.

Snapir is a protection force and harbor security unit that is part of the patrol squadrons stationed at the Navy’s bases in Ashdod, Haifa and Eilat.

The IDF said that the Navy killed dozens of Palestinian terrorists on speedboats and other vessels during the assault last weekend.

The Navy’s elite Shayetet 13 commando unit also battled terrorists during the October 7 onslaught.

The IDF on Thursday published footage showing Shayetet 13 commandos retaking the Sufa military post on the Gaza border from Palestinian terrorists last weekend.

The headcam video showed the soldiers battling Hamas terrorists inside the base, killing some and arresting others.

The troops were seen reaching the base’s bunker, where surviving soldiers were holed up amid Hamas’s attack. “Shayetet, Shayetet, stay in the bunker, we’re coming,” one of the officers shouted.

The IDF said Shayetet 13 soldiers also operated in southern Israel on October 7, after being airlifted to the scene following Hamas’s murderous invasion from the Gaza Strip.

The Shayetet 13 troops killed more than 60 Palestinian terrorists in the Sufa post, and in the towns of Be’eri, Kfar Aza, Sa’ad, Mefalsim and Nir Oz, and rescued some 250 hostages, according to the IDF.

Another 26 terrorists were arrested by the soldiers, including a senior member of Hamas’s naval forces, the IDF added.

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