How an Israeli military base was overrun by Hamas on 7 October

One twelvemonth connected from the 7 October Hamas attacks, pugnacious questions are inactive being asked wrong Israel astir the deadliest time successful its history, erstwhile the country's almighty service was caught disconnected defender and swiftly overwhelmed.

The BBC has heard accounts fixed to families of what happened astatine 1 subject basal that guarded the borderline with Gaza.

The Nahal Oz basal was overrun by Hamas gunmen connected the greeting of 7 October and much than 60 Israeli soldiers are reported to person been killed - with others taken hostage.

Israel’s subject is yet to people its authoritative enquiry into what happened determination that day, but it has already briefed relatives of those killed there, and immoderate person shared those details with the BBC.

This is the closest we person to an authoritative relationship by Israel’s subject of what happened connected the day.

In an effort to further portion unneurotic events, we person besides spoken to survivors, seen messages from those who died, and listened to dependable recordings reporting the onslaught arsenic it happened, helping to physique a representation of the velocity and ferocity of the invasion.

The BBC has found:

• Suspicious enactment was spotted by galore soldiers astatine the basal earlier 7 October, not conscionable the young women whose occupation it was to show borderline cameras
• Soldiers noticed an abrupt halt to Hamas enactment successful the days earlier the attack
• Many Israeli troops determination were unarmed and authoritative protocols had soldiers lasting backmost erstwhile nether attack, alternatively of advancing
• Some surveillance instrumentality was either retired of enactment oregon capable to beryllium destroyed by Hamas with ease

The details we person established rise questions - including wherefore truthful fewer soldiers were equipped astatine a basal truthful adjacent to the border, wherefore much wasn’t done to respond to the quality and warnings that had been received, however it took truthful agelong for reinforcements to arrive, and whether the precise infrastructure of the basal had near those determination unprotected.

We enactment our findings to the IDF, who responded to accidental it was successful the midst of a “thorough probe into the events of October 7th, including those successful Nahal Oz, and the circumstances preceding”.

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On 7 October, Sharon - not her existent sanction - began her displacement astatine Nahal Oz, astir a kilometre from the Gaza borderline fence, astatine 04:00.

She was portion of the base’s all-women subject portion - known arsenic Tatzpitaniyot successful Hebrew - and their relation was to survey unrecorded surveillance footage captured by cameras on the fence.

The women worked successful shifts successful the base’s warfare room, oregon Hamal, watching Gaza done a slope of monitors astir the clock.

The Hamal is simply a windowless country protected by a coagulated doorway and blast walls, with strict information protocols.

The IDF has told families of radical connected the basal that time that galore subject unit were unarmed.

Gen Israel Ziv, erstwhile caput of the IDF's Operations Division, told the BBC that during his service, determination would ne'er person been unarmed soldiers successful borderline areas.

“It doesn’t marque sense… The worker is astir the weapon,” helium says.

The equipped unit astatine Nahal Oz that time included a portion of infantry soldiers from the IDF’s Golani brigade.

The BBC has antecedently reported that the Tatzpitaniyot had noticed an escalation successful suspicious enactment connected the different broadside of the fence, but we person present established that these concerns were besides shared by different soldiers astatine the basal from antithetic units.

In the days soon earlier 7 October, however, things had gone quiet.

“There was thing and that was frightening us,” 1 infantry worker stationed astatine the basal recalls.“Everybody felt that thing was strange. It didn’t marque sense.”

The IDF's nonaccomplishment to grasp what was happening was down to “a batch of arrogance”, says Gen Ziv, the thought that “Hamas wouldn’t attack, wouldn’t dare, and that adjacent if so, they are not capable”.

“We went to slumber connected the 6th reasoning there’s a feline implicit determination and we woke up connected the 7th and there’s a tiger.”

At 05:30, members of the Golani prepared to statesman a jeep patrol on the Israeli broadside of the obstruction - thing they did earlier dawn each morning. But they were past instructed by their superiors to hold the patrol and basal backmost due to the fact that of a menace of anti-tank missiles, 3 of them person told the BBC.

“There was a warning. It was forbidden to spell up the way adjacent to the fence,” 1 recalls.

Another Golani, 21-year-old Shimon Malka, said specified a informing was antithetic but not unheard of, truthful they gave it small thought.

Gen Ziv says it is modular IDF protocol to basal radical backmost during suspected attacks similar this truthful they tin “avoid being exposed arsenic a target”. But, helium says, “Hamas realised that and utilized it” to their advantage.

He said the basal should person been equipped with positions that the Golani could safely respond from.

“There are precise elemental techniques to screen soldiers truthful they’re nether screen but they’re inactive successful a presumption to react, to not suffer sight,” helium said.

As the Golani waited distant from the fence, Sharon began seeing movements among Hamas fighters. But they seemed thing different than regular - “they besides person shifts.”

By 06:20 Hamas had begun shooting rockets, but again Sharon says this did not look instantly alarming - she had experienced rocket attacks earlier and the basal was well-shielded against them.

“It’s usually 5 minutes of shooting and past a break,” she says.

But this time, determination was nary break.

At astir 06:30, Sharon says she could spot Hamas forces opening to adjacent in.

The Tatzpitaniyot radioed done to the crushed forces to alert them.

“All stations, 4 radical moving to the fence, copy,” 1 of the young women announced, her dependable shaking slightly. "I americium identifying 2 equipped radical moving to the fence, copy.”

About the aforesaid time, Shimon heard the codification words for a rocket onslaught done his radio. His commandant ordered they leap from their jeep into a Namer - a benignant of Israeli armoured unit bearer - and caput towards the fence.

But helium couldn’t spot immoderate incursions and assumed it was conscionable a drill.

This alleged robust partition had agelong been viewed by the IDF and radical crossed Israel arsenic impenetrable, and yet bases on it began reporting breaches.

Each of the Tatzpitaniyot connected displacement astatine Nahal Oz witnessed betwixt 2 and 5 breaches of the conception of borderline obstruction they were liable for monitoring, says Sharon. They watched arsenic Hamas fighters made their mode wrong Israel.

Gen Ziv says the easiness with which fighters had crossed the obstruction showed the flaws successful a obstruction perceived to beryllium impenetrable.

“As you saw, 2 truck-loads could travel and propulsion it. It was nothing. Even if determination was a minefield of 50 oregon 60 metres implicit there, it would person delayed Hamas for a fewer hours.”

Shortly earlier 06:40, an reflection station astatine Nahal Oz was deed and damaged by a rocket, according to IDF household briefing notes shared with the BBC.

A sniper-sighting strategy was enactment into enactment from the Hamal - the nervus centre of the basal - and an serviceman attempted to sprout remotely astatine gunmen trying to transverse the border, the IDF told families.

Infantry officers joined the Tatzpitaniyot successful the Hamal, too. Sharon remembers 1 commandant arriving successful her pyjamas.

And then, arsenic gunmen continued to sprout astatine surveillance cameras, the monitoring screens successful the Hamal started to spell dark.

Hamas had been operating successful plain show of these surveillance cameras on the borderline successful the weeks earlier had been tactical, says Gen Ziv, successful bid to “normalise things”.

Just 100 metres from wherever the Tatzpitaniyot were working, Alroy - 1 of the 5 IDF reflection balloonists connected tract that greeting - was woken by the rockets and the sirens, his begetter Rafi Ben Shitrit told the BBC.

The IDF aboriginal provided details of an archetypal probe to Alroy’s household astir what happened that day.

The balloon astatine Nahal Oz offered a deeper presumption into Gaza, and was expected to beryllium operational 24 hours a day.

But connected 7 October it was 1 of 3 on the borderline that were retired of action.

“The balloon successful Nahal Oz didn't enactment and no-one was stressed, they were told it would beryllium fixed connected Sunday,” says Mr Ben Shitrit.

“There was an ambiance like: ‘Hamas is deterred, adjacent if thing happens it's a violent infiltration oregon astatine astir a violent squad.’”

Back astatine her surveillance point, Sharon carried connected frantically communicating with soldiers connected the ground.

“I cried and announced, simultaneously,” she says.

She remembers that the commanding serviceman yelled for “quiet” due to the fact that immoderate of the young women were losing absorption amid the horror.

At the fence, Shimon says helium followed the vigor directions. He inactive couldn’t recognize wherefore the young woman’s dependable helium was proceeding sounded truthful panicked.

“I could consciousness the stress, but I couldn’t spot anything.”

When his portion reached the spot the Tatzpitaniyot had directed them to, they saw Hamas trucks breaking done the fence.

“They started to sprout astatine us. Maybe 5 trucks.”

The soldiers changeable backmost and ran implicit those connected motorbikes.

Shortly aft 07:00 came the infinitesimal everyone feared and cipher could imagine. Hamas gunmen were astatine the doorway of the Hamal.

“Get up, the terrorists are astatine the door,” Sharon remembers being told.

The Tatzpitaniyot were ordered to wantonness their positions and caput to an bureau wrong the warfare room.

Gen Ziv says that those higher up successful the subject did not enactment capable accent connected defending the bases themselves, focusing alternatively connected outer patrols.

“That was portion of the full messiness due to the fact that erstwhile the force amazed them and went into the basal they were not ready. The full happening collapsed,” helium says.

At astir 07:20 what was known arsenic the shield - a weaponry structure extracurricular the Hamal - was attacked.

Among those sheltering wrong were immoderate off-duty Tatzpitaniyot, who were being protected by “four pistillate warriors”, according to a WhatsApp connection sent astatine 07:38 by 1 of the Tatzpitaniyot sheltering determination and seen by the BBC.

There were nary further messages from her successful the group.

The IDF told families that these “female warriors” were the lone equipped radical hiding successful the structure - and they kept Hamas fighters astatine bay with their gunfire until a grenade detonation killed 1 of the commanders and injured others inside.

At this point, astir 10 of the soldiers managed to flight the structure and locked themselves successful the accommodation barracks. Everyone other successful the shield was either killed oregon captured by Hamas.

Shimon and his commandant headed backmost to the base, but they inactive weren’t alert of the standard of what was happening.

The IDF would aboriginal little the household of 1 of those killed astatine Nahal Oz that the onslaught connected the basal was begun by drone strikes, and enactment by 70 fighters from 4 directions, and that scores much joined arsenic the greeting went on.

Up and down the Gaza Strip, thousands crossed into Israeli territory.

On his mode backmost to basal Shimon says helium began to comprehend the standard of the attack.

“When we got to the base, everything was burned,” helium says.

In the bureau wrong the Hamal, Sharon says the radical of astir 20 soldiers tried to calm each different down.

Meanwhile, they made repeated attempts to telephone for much support.

“I conjecture [someone] said thing similar ‘There’s nary backup, no-one tin come,’ and I retrieve my serviceman said ‘We don’t request backup, we request rescue.’”

Shortly earlier 08:00 an Israeli drone, known arsenic a Zik, arrived, but it had trouble distinguishing betwixt Israeli soldiers and Hamas, according to the IDF account, which meant it was slower to onslaught its intended targets.

At astir the aforesaid time, an onslaught began connected the Hamal, with tons of shooting. Those equipped fought astatine the doors of the gathering to forestall Hamas from getting inside. The warring continued for astir 4 hours.

Meanwhile, Shimon says helium and different soldiers warring astatine the basal were wholly outnumbered. There was nary motion of reinforcements.

“It was each vague.”

At astir 09:00, the Golani headed to the base’s eating country wherever the Tatzpitaniyot had told them astir of the gunmen were hiding.

Relatives would aboriginal beryllium told by the IDF that determination were 150 gunmen to each 25 combat soldiers entering Nahal Oz that day.

“What Hamas was doing that greeting was swarming,” says Gen Ziv.

“There were implicit 70 antithetic breaches… implicit 3,000 terrorists… They knew they didn’t person the prime truthful they had to spell quantity.”

A video, which Israeli media reports was filmed astir this time, shows young surveillance officers astatine Nahal Oz, who had been captured by equipped Hamas.

“You dogs, we volition measurement connected you,” 1 antheral is heard saying arsenic the women’s hands are tied, their faces against the wall.

Nineteen-year-old Naama Levy, who had lone started astatine the basal the erstwhile day, pleads that she has “friends successful Palestine”, her look covered successful blood.

The footage shows the women being dragged into a waiting conveyance and driven away.

It is devastating for Naama’s parent to watch. “The wounds, the blood, what she was saying, what the terrorists were saying to them, the fearfulness of those moments,” says Dr Ayelet Levy.

Gen Ziv says the Tatzpitaniyot astatine Nahal Oz “were astonishing - the mistake was the system, the commanders, not them”.

More than 3 hours aft the onslaught had begun, astatine 09:45, an IDF chopper started firing astatine the Hamas gunmen, officers told grieving relatives. It fired into the basal 12 times.

Shimon and six others, including their commander, drove retired of the basal and returned successful enactment connected foot. He says they were fired connected “from each directions”.

Through the dependable of automatic gunfire would travel a bid of azygous shots, fired by a Hamas sniper they couldn’t see.

“Every clip helium shot, 1 of my friends got a slug successful the head,” helium says.

Shimon says helium was the lone 1 of those warring alongside him to survive, and helium too, had a adjacent miss.

“A slug passed close by my head… I could perceive the bullets hitting the factual astir maine and consciousness the vigor from them.”

At this point, helium says his vigor was nary longer operational.

Gen Ziv describes the time arsenic a “perfect storm”.

“For truthful galore hours the backup was not determination due to the fact that cipher knew precisely what was going connected and wherever to nonstop the backup,” helium explains.

Shimon escaped the country and moved to a sniper's presumption earlier joining with soldiers from different portion who went to support a kibbutz.

Back successful the Hamal, oregon warfare room, determination was a important improvement astatine astir 11:00.

The energy was chopped which meant the locks to the doors, which were connected an electrical system, were released. It near the warfare country wide open, according to the IDF relationship fixed to respective families. Hamas fighters began shooting wrong and throwing grenades.

One was killed successful a face-to-face weapon combat with a Golani soldier, the IDF told families.

Gen Ziv said astatine the constituent that soldiers were relying connected doorway locks for their safety, the broader subject strategy had “already failed”.

In the IDF’s briefing to families it said “terrorists threw a flammable substance into the Hamal and acceptable it connected fire”.

“The fume was truly thick. Everyone started to cough and suffocate. People commencement to autumn and faint,” recalls Sharon.

One parent says she was told by the IDF that a “toxic substance” had been utilized by Hamas successful the attack, though others were not alert of this item oregon said the IDF had since changed its relationship connected this.

At astir 12:30, 7 radical successful the Hamal - including Sharon - managed to consciousness their mode to the toilet model and ascent out, according to accounts of those determination that day.

There, she and the different survivors waited for much to follow. But no-one came. Sharon was the lone subsister among the Tatzpitaniyot connected displacement that time to survive. One different young pistillate successful the unit, who was astatine the basal but not moving that morning, besides survived.

By the extremity of 7 October, the subject had regained control, but galore of those stationed determination did not past the day. Seven Tatzpitaniyot were taken backmost to Gaza arsenic hostages, wherever 1 was killed, different rescued and 5 inactive remain.

Across Israel that day, astir 1,200 radical - including much than 300 soldiers - were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. Since then, much than 41,000 Palestinians person been killed arsenic a effect of Israeli subject enactment successful Gaza, the Hamas-run wellness ministry says.

The Nahal Oz dormant were to see Alroy the balloonist and 4 comrades, who had engaged successful a lengthy conflict with Hamas, says his father, citing accusation fixed to him by the IDF.

They managed to termination adjacent to 10 gunmen, helium said, but the 5 were outnumbered and were each recovered dormant wrong a mobile structure astatine 14:30.

The warfare country - which had been designed arsenic a harmless abstraction for the base’s units - was destroyed. Photos and videos amusement it charred, the screens the Tatzpitaniyot had been cautiously monitoring, blackened. Bone fragments were recovered among the ashes there.

The survivors and the families of those killed and kidnapped are near with unanswered questions astir however it went truthful wrong.

Additional reporting by Jon Donnison and Naomi Scherbel-Ball