An IDF investigation into the events of October 7 reveals new details: Three terrorists on paragliders landed in Netiv HaAsara on the morning of Simchat Torah. These three were meant to be the opening of a much larger attack, which was thwarted thanks to Battalion 77 of the 7th Armored Brigade, as reported this morning on Walla.
The Terrorists Had Precise Intelligence on the Settlement
The terrorists were equipped with maps and tablets, and the investigation revealed that they had precise intelligence on the settlement. Members of the emergency response squad managed to kill one terrorist at the initial stage, but the exchange of fire resulted in the deaths of 20 Israeli civilians, including four members of the emergency squad. The remaining two terrorists managed to return to the Gaza Strip, with one wounded.
According to the report, IDF investigations revealed that Hamas’s plan was for these three terrorists to be the first part of the attack on Netiv HaAsara. The second phase would involve a Nukhba unit infiltrating the settlement, aiming to increase casualties and carry out further kidnapping attempts.
Pursuing Contact While Riding a Jeep
The investigation revealed that Battalion 77’s commander, Lt. Col. Shimon, commanding the northern Gaza Brigade sector, made critical decisions under challenging conditions while his wife and children were in an unprotected facility at Camp Yiftach, and hundreds of terrorists were attacking his sector at multiple points. Under Shimon’s command, a tank force repelled the Nukhba attack on Netiv HaAsara despite the difficult opening conditions of the battle, lack of knowledge about the sector, lack of coordination, and multiple infiltration points.
During the battles, the battalion commander acted decisively, pursuing contact while riding a jeep and scanning the area until it was cleared. Following the repulsion of the raid and the onset of the war in Gaza, the head of the Shin Bet, Ronen Bar, decided to pursue every terrorist involved in the raid on Israel on the morning of October 7. Walla learned that the Air Force eliminated one of the terrorists participating in the raid on Netiv HaAsara, in addition to another terrorist killed during the raid itself.
7.5 Kilometers of Tunnels Blown Up in Beit Lahia
Later in the clashes, the IDF encircled Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip, trapping the terrorists who executed the raid using paragliders. During this operation, security forces eliminated about 220 terrorists and captured many others. The task of dismantling the terror infrastructure in Beit Lahia was assigned to the Kfir Brigade battle team, led by Col. Yaniv Barot.
Shin Bet and Unit 504 investigations revealed that Beit Lahia served as a Hamas command and control center in the northern strip and that hundreds of terrorists who fled Jabalia found shelter there. Some command centers were discovered to be integrated into underground tunnels, leading to the decision to task Division 162’s engineering forces with destroying them.
According to IDF data presented to Southern Command Chief Yaron Finkelman, engineering forces blew up about 7.5 kilometers of tunnels in the Beit Lahia area as part of a large-scale operation intended to disrupt Hamas’s terror infrastructure and limit its personnel’s movement capabilities.
Footage from the Elimination of the Militant Commanding the Massacre in Netiv HaAsara
Footage from the Elimination | IDF Spokesperson
It is noteworthy that at the beginning of September, Air Force fighter jets, guided by the Shin Bet and the Gaza Division, struck a compound used by Hamas militants near the Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City. The attack eliminated eight Hamas militants from the Daraj Tufah Battalion, including Ahmad Fawzi Nasser Muhammad Wadia, a member of Hamas’s paraglider unit. The militant commanded the Nukhba company in the Daraj Tufah Battalion, which raided Netiv HaAsara and led the horrific massacre at the settlement.
