A military investigation released Tuesday revealed that extraordinary bravery and swift action by residents and members of the emergency response team prevented a massacre at Kibbutz Erez near the Gaza border on October 7, 2023, even as the IDF failed to defend the community.
According to the report, around 15–20 Hamas terrorists infiltrated from Gaza and reached the kibbutz but were stopped in intense clashes in the area. The only fatality was 27-year-old reserve officer Amir Naim, a member the response team.
While an IDF unit and its tank crew managed to contain the initial infiltration and disrupted further waves of attackers with the help of Air Force drones, the military struggled to gain a clear picture of the situation inside the kibbutz until late evening. In the critical early hours, residents were left to fend for themselves.
The probe, led by Lt. Col. (res.) Israel Shitrit over a nine-month period, was presented to the Erez community and Naim’s family. It highlighted systemic failures on the military’s part, contrasted with accounts of individual heroism. Central among those was the community’s former security chief Ben Sadan, who displayed remarkable leadership under fire and is credited with saving dozens of lives.
The kibbutz's current security coordinator, Or Chava, was in Jerusalem that morning but recognized the severity of the situation by 6:40 a.m. He quickly mobilized the 12-person squad, issuing clear orders to secure strategic points—especially the “blue gate,” a known vulnerable entry point to the kibbutz.
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That decision proved crucial: when terrorists arrived in trucks, on motorized paragliders and on foot, they were met with fierce resistance. Two were killed inside the kibbutz and six more were gunned down north of the Shikma Stream bridge, likely during their retreat.
As fighting continued, more residents joined the defense—some armed with their personal weapons. The main battle raged between 7:10 and 10:00 a.m. at the blue gate, where Sadan coordinated the defense under heavy anti-tank missile fire, grenades and constant shooting.
One squad member was wounded by a grenade but continued fighting until sustaining a head injury; another was hit by anti-tank missile fire and evacuated. Amir Naim was killed in a fierce clash in a residential yard.
Chava called in reinforcements from nearby Kibbutz Or HaNer. At 8:00 a.m., a group led by Or HaNer’s security chief, Yaniv Kastenbaum, arrived under fire with limited ammunition and successfully rescued trapped fighters.
Sadan also used technology effectively, spotting terrorists near point 29 along the kibbutz fence using a drone from the command center. The terrorists breached the fence with explosives but the emergency response team, redirected to the area, repelled them.
‘They prevented a complete massacre’
The investigation, based on interviews, radio recordings, visual footage, captured maps and military intelligence, stressed that the IDF only gradually understood the scale of the attack by the afternoon. The sector commander, engaged in battles near Netiv HaAsara, didn’t arrive at Erez until the fighting was over.
The local IDF company commander took early action by positioning a tank that destroyed terrorist motorcycles and disrupted their plans but the tank was later disabled by anti-tank fire. The commander then redeployed to Nirim. The kibbutz was only fully cleared in the evening by the emergency response team, with support from an IDF paratrooper team, Shin Bet, a Multidimensional Unit and the 202nd Battalion.
The probe praised Sadan’s on-the-ground leadership and Kastenbaum’s critical reinforcement effort, saying: “They demonstrated camaraderie, engagement and devotion—and prevented a complete massacre.” It also credited the kibbutz’s emergency response team and residents who joined the battle without hesitation.
The report stressed that the squad’s preparedness—specifically, having 12 of 16 weapons stored in team members’ homes—enabled a rapid response, in contrast to other communities where delays cost lives.
However, it also underscored the military’s operational failures: the absence of a real-time situational picture and delayed troop deployment left residents dangerously exposed. Drone support helped intercept more attackers but couldn’t compensate for the breakdown in coordination.