Proper organization and preparation of Kibbutz Re’im’s emergency standby squad prevented a much larger disaster during the fighting there on October 7, said the IDF’s probe of the battle, which was released on Thursday.The nearly 100 Gaza terrorists who infiltrated Kibbutz Re’im killed 15 members of Israeli security forces and seven civilians, in and around Re’im.Five civilians, including four Thai nationals, were taken hostage. Seventeen of the kibbutz’s homes were completely destroyed. Forty-three Nova festival goers sought haven in Re’im that morning.
The probe found that fighting between terrorists and Israeli forces, including the kibbutz’s local security squad and armed civilians, prevented more terrorists from entering Re’im and stopped them from reaching other targets, such as Ofakim and the Nevatim airbase. The terrorists were found to have detailed maps of the base and the locations of squadrons and aircraft.The probe praised the courage and determination demonstrated by the residents of Kibbutz Re’im and, with them, the members of the alert platoon, which succeeded in preventing the Hamas terrorists from carrying out all of their plans.
Local security team
The investigation concluded that two of the kibbutz’s four gates had been breached. The majority of the battle, which started late in the morning and lasted until noon, took place in a specific kibbutz neighborhood.On October 7, eight members of the kibbutz’s on-call squad were present. The squad was well-trained; it conducted a drill in July 2023 under the guidance of former Southern Brigade commander Col. Asaf Hamami. The probe found that the on-call squad did exactly what they were supposed to do and even fought a battle against fortified terrorists in the same house they had practiced in.All members of the on-call squad were equipped with assault rifles stored in their homes, along with combat gear, bulletproof vests, helmets, and mobile radios.
Timeline of the Battle at Re’im
At 7 a.m., the on-call squad at Re’im began preparing after hearing about nearby attacks. Thirty-five young people from the Nova party took refuge in the kibbutz and sheltered in several homes in a specific kibbutz neighborhood.At 7:20, the squad split into three teams, each stationed at a different gate of the kibbutz.Twenty minutes later, the security coordinator flagged that the terrorists penetrated the kibbutz. The terrorists disabled the gate and entered on foot. The on-call squad immediately fired at them, catching the intruders off guard.At 7:55, the terrorists arrived at the main gate and murdered a liaison officer for the counter-terrorism unit at the kibbutz.Afterward, five pickup trucks carrying 40 terrorists with a substantial amount of weapons entered through the kibbutz’s main gate.From 8:01-8:30, Amit Gabay and Assaf Febvre were murdered, and Liam Or was kidnapped.St.-Sgt. Guy Simhi, an off-duty soldier, led 11 Nova revelers to a safe room. He and St.-Sgt. Hadar Cohen, who was also off duty, went outside to observe the first entry of the terrorists into Re’im. They returned to their post with weapons and waited for the terrorists.Simhi jumped on one of the terrorists and tried to strangle him with his bare hands. Cohen killed two terrorists, but both ran out of ammunition. Simhi and Hadar left the house, and Simhi was killed after exiting. The house caught fire, but the safe room did not, and 11 people were saved.At 9 a.m., a second group of 20 terrorists entered through the back cemetery gate and set fire to significant amounts of crops. The Civilian Security Department informed the on-call squad of the terrorists’ whereabouts, and they forced them to retreat to Route 234.A half-hour later, additional police forces arrived on Route 234 and successfully defeated the terrorists. Afterward, an Air Defense Battalion vehicle arrived to replenish supplies. The vehicle was not armored, and Capt. Sahar Saudyan, Sgt. Nativ Kuzaro, and Sgt. Benyamin Gavriel Yona were killed in an ambush by terrorists.At 10 a.m., the terrorists attacked a neighborhood of the kibbutz, but a combined force of police and the on-call caused them to retreat to a different part of the kibbutz.At 11:41, an IDF multidimensional unit, led by Col. Roi Levy, assumed command of the situation. Levy was later killed in the battle.By noon, the battle had intensified, with the terrorists still concentrated in the same neighborhood. The on-call squad continued to block terrorists from entering separate parts of the kibbutz while IDF forces began mobilizing to engage.A unit commander arrived at the kibbutz and was sent to the neighborhood where the terrorists were located. Security forces began searching for the terrorists. Nova partygoers, along with 14 other Re’im members, barricaded themselves in their homes.At half-past 12, all security troops converged in the courtyard of the neighborhood. The unit commander rescued civilians and took them to the clinic with the Nova party attendees.The IDF then realized the terrorists were in the northern part of the neighborhood.At 12:40, troops charged the terrorists in the neighborhood, evacuated the wounded to the clinic, and moved them southward.By 3 p.m., major battles continued as troops attempted to neutralize the terrorists who remained holed up in houses within the kibbutz. The IDF and the General Staff Reconnaissance Unit began a coordinated assault to clear the area.Three hours later, after several efforts to kill the terrorists, including launching a LAW missile, using snipers, and deploying dogs, a window in the house broke open. This allowed soldiers to approach and throw grenades inside, but not all of the terrorists inside died.By nightfall, a tank was brought in to help, but the terrorists managed to escape. Civilians were rescued from the kibbutz. During the assault, Maj. Ariel Ben Moshe was killed.The next morning at 11, the kibbutz was evacuated. A reserve battalion from the IDF’s Officer Training School secured the area and fired at the last terrorist, who attempted to sneak up behind the officers and stab them.