The report emphasized that the tragedy could have been far worse were it not for swift and decisive action by junior IDF officers and critical air support provided by the Israeli Air Force.
More than 100 Hamas fighters stormed the kibbutz and surrounding areas, infiltrating through 11 breaches in the border fence. Dozens of them were killed during the assault.
The 934th Nahal Battalion and the kibbutz’s volunteer security team were the primary defending forces.
At 6:46 a.m., a female lookout spotted 20 Gazan infiltrators near the kibbutz. Multiple vehicles and a tank were later dispatched to assist.
Between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m., two separate gunfights broke out in different locations, in which Israeli defenders successfully repelled the attackers. In the second confrontation, seven Hamas fighters were killed.
Around 8:30 a.m., Israeli forces engaged and killed more Hamas militants attempting to infiltrate from another direction. From 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., there was an almost complete lull in fighting.
At 9:33 a.m., a second wave of Hamas attacks began. Israeli defenders successfully repelled or forced them to alter course in two key areas.
At 10:10 a.m., IDF helicopters attacked dozens of Hamas militants trying to cross into Israel, causing many to retreat. While the exact number of casualties was not confirmed, it is estimated that several dozen were killed.
At 10:25 a.m., the volunteer security team was alerted that two terrorists had infiltrated a home in the kibbutz, where a family was sheltering in a safe room. The attackers blew the door open, severely injuring the father hiding behind it. The team arrived in time and killed both terrorists, but during the rescue, two security team members were killed in a gunfight involving those terrorists and others nearby.
In another instance around the same time, the security team, along with Nahal forces, blocked further advances by Gazan infiltrators, although a bombing by the attackers wounded another team member.
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