Nearly two years after Hamas terrorists stormed the Urim base during the October 7 massacre, the military facility near the southern town of Ofakim remained unguarded on Friday afternoon, raising new concerns about base security.
Footage obtained by Ynet shows a civilian approaching the entrance to the camp and filming the guard post, which was unmanned. The individual then entered and exited the base without being stopped.
Urim base in southern Israel left unguarded
In response, the IDF acknowledged the lapse. “The absence of a guard at the post is a serious failure that will be reviewed, investigated and addressed,” the military said. “The army places utmost importance on vigilance and the security of its forces.”
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The breach comes just weeks after the IDF released its official investigation into the October 7 attack on the base, revealing a string of critical failures. According to the report, the base was not prepared for a large-scale infiltration and had only planned for limited scenarios. No drills were held for a coordinated assault, and only seven of the twelve security posts were staffed at the time. On the day of the attack, no guard was on duty.
Communication failures further hampered the response, preventing a full alert from being issued. The report, which relied on security footage, body cameras worn by the attackers and interviews with soldiers, concluded that these failures left the camp exposed, contributing to the deaths of eight IDF troops.
Urim is the farthest IDF base from the Gaza border to have been attacked on October 7. Though not under the jurisdiction of the Gaza Division, it was targeted by Hamas' elite Nukhba fighters, who raided the base for three hours. The investigation revealed that the actual target was the nearby Yarkon base, home to Unit 8200, the IDF's elite signals intelligence unit.