An internal military investigation released Sunday revealed that a group of IDF soldiers stationed near the Gaza border abandoned Israeli civilians sheltering at Zikim Beach during Hamas’s deadly incursion on October 7, 2023. The soldiers, part of the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion, retreated from the beach without adequately confronting the terrorists arriving by sea, who proceeded to kill 17 people. The attackers then turned toward Kibbutz Zikim, but were repelled by the local emergency squad.
The review also noted that seven of the civilians murdered at the beach were left inside a coastal bomb shelter for an entire week before rescue crews eventually recovered their remains.
This report is one of several deep-dive probes the Israel Defense Forces has undertaken to examine the over 40 coordinated attacks carried out by Hamas during its October 7 rampage, which saw roughly 5,600 terrorists infiltrate southern Israel, leaving about 1,200 dead and 251 taken hostage into Gaza. Many of those captives are still believed to be alive.
Like other similar inquiries, this investigation concluded that the army “failed in its mission to protect” those on Zikim Beach. The primary reason cited was that the military was unprepared for a large-scale, multi-front invasion, compounded by the collapse of command and control infrastructure within the Gaza Division, which made it difficult to understand the scope of the threat in real time.
“The failure is expressed in the fact that the terrorists were able to infiltrate our territory in a short time and murder 17 civilians,” the findings stated.
Colonel Tal Kuritsky, head of the 5th Reserve Infantry Brigade, led the investigation into the events at Zikim, examining all dimensions of the attack both on the beach and in the nearby community.
Investigators relied on an extensive array of sources, including footage filmed by the terrorists themselves using body cams, recordings from local civilians and surveillance systems, communications among IDF units, and testimonies from survivors and soldiers.
While this particular report was limited in scope to assessing the military’s tactical response, broader inquiries are being conducted into Israel’s long-term security assumptions and policies regarding Gaza and Hamas.
The investigation sharply criticized the Golani soldiers’ conduct during the incident, describing their decision not to engage the terrorists as a grave error. “The soldiers did not risk their lives and did not strive to engage in close combat with the enemy,” the report said, calling their behavior a “massive failure” both “professionally and ethically.”
Most of the soldiers involved later took part in the IDF’s ground campaign in Gaza, although only one still serves in the military, and that individual has been reassigned to a non-combat role.
Another key revelation from the probe was that, in the initial 40 hours of the Hamas attack, communication between the Navy and the Gaza Division broke down entirely, due in part to Hamas deliberately targeting and damaging communications infrastructure.
The full investigation was divided into three segments: the naval confrontation at sea, the massacre at Zikim Beach, and the attempted infiltration of Kibbutz Zikim.
As Hamas launched its initial barrage of more than 1,000 rockets at 6:29 a.m., 38 terrorists in seven speedboats departed from Gaza, heading for the Israeli coastline. Navy findings showed that the vessels were spaced out by 600–700 meters and traveling at about 30 knots, or 55 kilometers per hour.
Their destinations included two military installations, the beach at Zikim, Kibbutz Zikim itself, and a nearby oil terminal.
At 6:36 a.m., the first speedboat crossed into Israeli waters. A Dvora-class Navy vessel from the 916th Patrol Squadron intercepted and destroyed it within minutes using a 25mm Typhoon cannon, killing all four Hamas operatives onboard.
Seeing this, the second boat turned away from the oil facility and instead landed near Zikim’s training grounds at 6:40 a.m. Three terrorists exited and linked up with other infiltrators who had breached the fence, then attacked the nearby IDF base.
The third vessel reached the vicinity of the oil terminal before being sunk at 6:43 a.m. by the same Navy craft. Additional Navy personnel aboard a Defender-class boat engaged the terrorists in the water, ultimately killing all seven aboard.
The fourth boat made landfall at Zikim Beach at 6:45 a.m., unloading five terrorists.
The fifth vessel came under Navy fire at sea, killing three terrorists and damaging the boat. Three others survived and swam to shore, attempting to reach the oil infrastructure nearby. Two of them were later eliminated around 9:30 a.m. by further naval shelling.
A sixth boat with seven Hamas members also arrived at the beach at 6:48 a.m. Another Dvora patrol boat, originally assigned to guard an offshore gas platform, launched shells toward them, killing two on the spot.
The last boat, carrying six attackers, landed near an IDF logistics base by Zikim at 6:52 a.m. Israeli sailors fired upon the group, killing four. The remaining two stormed the logistics compound but were killed in a gunfight with Golani troops.
Meanwhile, a Golani squad in a GMC Savana stationed near Zikim Base entered the IDF compound just as the attack began. At 6:42 a.m., joined by Sgt. Dvir Lisha, they received word of terrorists arriving by sea and headed to the shoreline.
At that moment, 32 civilians were hiding on the beach. Eight had taken shelter in a bathroom, 12 in a bomb shelter, two were near the beach’s shade structures, nine were scattered among the dunes and parking lot.
The soldiers reached the bathroom by 6:44 a.m. and advised the civilians there to remain inside. Then, just as the fourth Hamas boat came ashore, the troops advanced toward the waterfront.
They didn’t spot the terrorists until the attackers opened fire. Footage showed the soldiers quickly falling back to the bathroom area at 6:46 a.m. The distance between them and the gunmen was roughly 110 meters, with visibility hampered. Sgt. Lisha fired back from behind the bathroom wall, but couldn’t land any hits.
As the terrorists moved toward the shaded part of the beach, they killed two fishermen: John Aslanov and Robert Shaulov, both 70.
At this stage, the soldiers lost visual contact with the gunmen and decided to retreat again — this time to the parking lot. They left the civilians behind in both the bathroom and the shelter, moving to a raised area they believed would offer better visibility. Structures blocked their line of sight.
The terrorists continued forward and, upon spotting the soldiers, opened fire. They also killed 26-year-old Abed Ziyadne in the parking lot.
While Sgt. Lisha and one other soldier remained at the overlook, the other five moved farther south, bypassing civilians hiding in the dunes. The reasoning for this further retreat was unclear.
A new group of five terrorists from the sixth boat merged with the ones already at the beach, opening fire on the soldiers in the dunes and wounding one. Another was traumatized by the blast nearby. A Navy shell also landed near their location but caused no additional injuries.
The Hamas gunmen then massacred seven civilians hiding in the bathroom: Yuri and Svetlana Lisovoy, Shahaf Krief, Tal Keren, Or Taasa, Nadav Tayeb, and Alina Vaisberg — all between the ages of 17 and 63. In the bomb shelter, they murdered another seven: Eli and Arye Uzan, Benny Genish, Avi Hasday, Yulia Chaban, Danil Kimenfeld, and Vladimir Zhukov.
At 6:51 a.m., Lisha told a fellow soldier he was going to link up with their commander. But instead of heading toward the dunes, the soldier mistakenly ran toward the bathroom, directly into the terrorists’ location. He was killed immediately, and the attackers took his weapon.
Six of the gunmen then moved up the Shikma stream toward Kibbutz Zikim at 6:54 a.m. Four others commandeered the Golani van and drove in the same direction at 6:57 a.m.
At 6:40 a.m., the Ashdod Navy base had already alerted the kibbutz security chief about the sea-based infiltration. He quickly mobilized his defense team, who took positions by 6:42 a.m.
One member of the security team saw the stolen military van approaching at 7:04 a.m. Initially thinking it was Israeli forces, he realized the truth as four Hamas operatives emerged and began shooting. He opened fire.
The remaining terrorists, who had arrived on foot, joined the fight. The kibbutz chief and two others arrived and exchanged gunfire with them.
By 7:20 a.m., the Golani company commander returned from leave and joined the fight alongside the local defenders. Two terrorists were killed in the ensuing battle.
At 8 a.m., the attackers threw eight grenades, injuring two members of the security squad. Others replaced them at the post and continued firing back.
At 8:20 a.m., Shin Bet officer Michael Ben Moshe, 26, was ambushed and killed by the terrorists as he tried to reach a nearby army base. The terrorists took his car and returned to the Zikim Base area.
As civilians fleeing a beach party passed through the area, they were caught in the crossfire. Three were lightly hurt.
Maglan special forces arrived at 8:45 a.m. after being called in by their commander, a kibbutz resident. They joined the battle and killed two more terrorists.
The remaining Hamas operatives retreated, abandoning plans to seize the kibbutz.
Later that day, at 12:30 p.m., the 202nd Paratroopers Brigade searched the beach. They located several bodies but were redirected to Kfar Aza before finishing.
That night, additional paratroopers were sent to guard Zikim, as the army suspected some attackers remained nearby.
Two more terrorists were killed on October 8 by naval and ground forces.
On October 10, another terrorist from the fifth boat was eliminated near the oil terminal by the 17th Battalion of the Bislamach Brigade. One Israeli soldier was injured in the skirmish.
Then, on October 11, Maglan commandos engaged two more terrorists near the Shikma stream bomb shelter. Three Israeli soldiers — Master Sgt. Ido Kaslasi, Master Sgt. Daniel Kastiel, and Master Sgt. Itay Moreno — lost their lives, and seven others were injured. The two terrorists were killed.
It wasn’t until October 13 that ZAKA rescue personnel recovered the seven bodies left in the bomb shelter at the beach. The remaining victims had been removed on October 7 and 8. The delay in retrieving the seven was labeled a “severe error” in the IDF’s review.
In total, 14 of the 38 terrorists who came by sea were killed offshore, eight were killed on land shortly after arrival, and 10 were eliminated later during shootouts. The remaining six are presumed dead, though this could not be definitively confirmed.
{Matzav.com Israel}
