Channel 12 has revealed the findings of the IDF inquiry into the security forces' failures during the October 7th massacre in Kibbutz Kfar Aza. According to the inquiry, at 6:30 a.m. on October 7th, the terrorist invasion of the kibbutz, which lasted nearly 24 hours and included an estimated 270 to 300 terrorists, began. The second wave of terrorists arrived at the young generation neighborhood at 9:00 and additional waves continued to infiltrate the kibbutz until 2:00 a.m. the next day. Regarding the IDF's response, the inquiry states it was slow and lacked coordination between the forces. Although over 20 different forces fought heroically on the kibbutz, they operated without planned command and control. In addition, the inquiry looked into why forces that reached the entrance to the kibbutz at 10:00 a.m. did not enter until 2:00 p.m., critical hours during which many residents were abducted and murdered. One of the main problems was the lack of ability to isolate the incident and close off the kibbutz, which would have prevented more terrorists from infiltrating it. In addition, throughout Saturday night, forces did not fight in the kibbutz due to a fear of friendly fire. Control of the kibbutz only began to be regained in the morning hours of Sunday, a day after the vicious and murderous attack began Regarding the evacuation of residents, the inquiry notes that there were areas that the forces only reached on Sunday morning. In addition, it notes an incident where IDF forces came to remove bodies while fighting was still ongoing and there were civilians and wounded who were not yet evacuated. The IDF Spokesperson commented on the report: "The inquiry into the battle in Kfar Aza has not yet concluded, and therefore has not yet been presented to the Chief of Staff. The findings presented in the article are not accurate and do not constitute the IDF's official summary of the inquiry. The IDF sees with severity any leak from an operational inquiry that can harm the continuation of the inquiry and the residents of the kibbutz. When the inquiry concludes, it will be presented first to the kibbutz's community and then to the public."
