Israeli army admits failures on October 7, but says no Israelis were killed in tank attack on homeland

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military said Thursday that Israeli hostages in a house that came under tank fire on Oct. 7 last year were likely killed by Hamas militants rather than Israeli artillery fire, as it released the results of its first investigation into failings during the deadly attack that sparked the nine-month war in Gaza.

Although the army appeared to survive the tank attack unscathed, it admitted that day that it had made a number of mistakes in fulfilling its core mission of protecting the country’s population. These included slow response times and a lack of organization during the standoff at Kibbutz Be’eri.

“The fighting in the area during the first hours was characterized by a lack of leadership and control, as well as a lack of coordination and order among the various forces,” the report said. “This led to a series of incidents in which security forces gathered at the entrance to the kibbutz and did not immediately intervene in the fighting.”

Be’eri, just a few kilometers from the Gaza border, was one of the worst-hit communities in the Hamas attack in the early hours of the morning. Over 100 people were killed and over 30 taken hostage.

It was also the scene of one of the most spectacular incidents on October 7 – a standoff in which militants held a group of hostages in a house. Survivors reported that a tank fired on the house during the standoff, raising fears that the 13 hostages in the house were killed by friendly fire.

In its investigation, the military said the kibbutz was overrun by about 340 Hamas fighters and most of the hostages were killed by militant groups. However, it was unclear how it reached this conclusion. The report called for additional investigations.

The investigators “concluded, based on the information they verified and to the best of their knowledge and belief, that no civilians in the building were harmed by tank shell fire,” the report concluded. However, it also said that two Israeli civilians outside the building were hit by shrapnel. One of these civilians died, according to the man’s wife.

It also said local commanders made “professional and responsible decisions” when ordering the tank attack. It said there was a joint decision by several commanders after they heard gunfire around the house and militants said they planned to kill the hostages and commit suicide.

Nevertheless, the report acknowledged that there had been widespread failures that day.

“The investigation team concluded that the army failed in its mission to protect the residents of Kibbutz Be’eri,” it said. “The courage of the residents of Be’eri and the members of the kibbutz’s civilian rapid response team is commendable and was crucial in stabilizing the defense line during the first hours of fighting.”

The Israeli army has faced heavy criticism from Palestinians and human rights groups, who say its investigations rarely result in punishment.

The residents of the kibbutz reacted to the report with mixed feelings. They expressed anger at the army’s failure that day, but also appreciation for its acceptance of responsibility.

Meir Zarbiv, a local resident whose brother and sister were killed on October 7, called the report a “deception” by the army. “I don’t believe the report and I don’t believe any of it,” he said.

He said he still could not understand why it took the army nearly four hours to get to the kibbutz, and then why there were further delays at the main gate while the soldiers waited for the order to enter.

“I just can’t believe what happened here. I have no explanation,” he said. “Where was the army?”

In a statement, the community called the investigation “thorough” and said it helped them understand the complexity of the fighting that day.

“We attach great importance to the army accepting blame and responsibility for its utter failure to protect us and asking for forgiveness for abandoning us for many hours during an attack of unprecedented evil,” it said.

The kibbutz also called for an official government commission of inquiry into the broader failings of October 7, “so that no other citizen will ever again have to suffer the unimaginable losses we suffered.”

The surprise raid across the border left around 1,200 people dead, most of them civilians, and took 250 others hostage. It was the deadliest attack in Israel’s 76-year history. The attack, in which several thousand militants stormed across the border without resistance, revealed serious deficiencies in the army’s readiness, its intelligence assessments and the political leaders’ policies toward Gaza.

An Israeli offensive in response to the attack has killed over 38,000 Palestinians, displaced over 80% of the territory’s population, according to local health authorities, and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Israel now faces accusations of war crimes and genocide in international courts.

The army has launched several investigations into the October 7 failures, and the head of military intelligence has resigned. Several other commanders have apologized and accepted responsibility for their failures.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected repeated calls for an official government investigation, even though the war has been going on for ten months.

Netanyahu has said an investigation cannot be carried out while the country is focused on the war against Hamas, and he says all questions will be answered in due course. But critics accuse the Israeli president of putting the matter off to avoid what will almost certainly be harsh criticism of his policies and leadership.

In the face of fierce international criticism, Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas’ military and governmental capacities are destroyed and the approximately 120 hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip can return home.

International mediators have made renewed efforts to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he would send a negotiating team to Cairo to continue ceasefire talks, but at the same time he reiterated his stance that he would not end the war until Israel had achieved its war aims.

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Associated Press writers Tia Goldenberg and Isaac Scharf contributed to this report.