IOF probe finds military failed to respond to Nir Oz events on Oct. 7

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Israeli media
21 Jul 2024 12:55
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The Israeli Channel 12 says the Israeli military's Gaza Division failed to comprehend the situation at the kibbutz and mismanaged the deployment of forces.

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Israeli soldiers inspect houses damaged in Kibbutz Nir Oz, southern occupied Palestine, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP)

In another flop added to its records, the Israel occupation military has acknowledged its failure to properly assess and respond to the Palestinian Resistance's attack on kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, as detailed in a report released on Saturday.

Touching on the report, Israeli Channel 12 said the Israeli military's Gaza Division failed to comprehend the situation at the kibbutz and mismanaged the deployment of forces, directing troops to neighboring kibbutzim but not to Nir Oz itself.

Israeli media claim that 46 people were killed during the attack on Nir Oz, which is 2.8 kilometers (1.7 miles) from the Gaza Strip, while 71 people were taken captive by the Palestinian Resistance.

One of the significant blunders highlighted in the Channel 12 report involved special forces en route to Nir Oz who encountered Palestinian Resistance fighters, resulting in the killing of an officer at 11:00 am.

The squadron was then reassigned, but the Israeli military's Southern Command did not inform the Operations Directorate, preventing additional forces from being dispatched to the kibbutz.

At 11:30 am, according to the report, Egoz special forces sent to Kibbutz Kissufim and Nir Oz also encountered Palestinian fighters on the way and did not reach their destination. The Southern Command only learned about this incident at 1:30 pm.

Subsequently, soldiers from the Shayetet 13 special forces unit were deployed, arriving at 2:20 pm. By then, the Resistance had already taken captive dozens of people, the report indicated.

Last week, an Israeli military investigation into the Palestinian Resistance's attack on Kibbutz Be’eri revealed that the military had "failed in its mission to protect the residents," primarily because it had never prepared for such an event.

The investigation detailed an incident in which at least one Israeli settler was killed by his own military and security forces in Be'eri.

The spokesperson for the Israeli occupation forces, Daniel Hagari, acknowledged multiple errors and emphasized the necessity of recognizing these failures to prevent future occurrences.

Meanwhile, Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said that the probe "clearly illustrates the magnitude of the failure and the dimensions of the disaster that befell the residents of the south."

Israeli media have pointed out that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has consistently rejected calls to establish an official commission of inquiry for the October 7 events. However, the premier has used the ongoing war on Gaza as an excuse for not launching investigations.