Bravery of locals prevented bloodier Ofakim massacre as IDF failed to act, army finds

The Israel Defense Forces failed in its mission to protect the southern city of Ofakim during the Hamas-led onslaught on October 7, 2023, a military investigation published Sunday concluded, determining that the rapid halt to the killing spree was due not to military intervention, but to the courage and initiative of local police officers, armed civilians and a handful of soldiers.

Fifteen Hamas terrorists from the terror group’s elite Nukhba force infiltrated Ofakim early that morning and launched a brutal assault, murdering 25 civilians and injuring several others.

While the IDF was slow to respond and caught in a state of unpreparedness, the probe credited local defenders with organizing a resistance that ultimately repelled the attackers and prevented a significantly higher death toll.

“The IDF failed in its mission to defend the city of Ofakim,” concluded the six-month investigation, led by Brig. Gen. Oren Simcha and approved by former Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman. “The quick halt to the massacre was made possible by the determination and bravery of police, civilians and soldiers,” who acted independently on the ground.

Eight members of the security forces — including police officers and IDF personnel — were killed in the battle. All 15 terrorists who entered the city were killed during or shortly after the fighting.

The probe was based on interviews with eyewitnesses, video and audio recordings, police reenactments, citizen documentation, and intelligence gathered in the aftermath.

Military officials believe the attack on Ofakim was intended to be even more devastating than it was. According to Hamas documents recovered by Israeli forces, the terror group had planned a significantly larger-scale assault on the city.

The investigation concluded that at least some of the forces originally assigned to attack Ofakim were diverted, either spontaneously or strategically, to the nearby Nova music festival, where terrorists killed 364 partygoers and kidnapped 40 into the Gaza Strip.

The IDF believes that these changes were likely made mid-operation, as Hamas operatives took advantage of the lightly defended mass civilian gathering in real time. That shift, investigators said, likely spared Ofakim an even bloodier outcome.

Timeline of the attack

The Hamas assault on Ofakim began just after 6:30 a.m., when rockets rained down on the city and surrounding areas as part of the group’s unprecedented surprise attack on southern Israel. Minutes later, two pickup trucks carrying 15 terrorists crossed into Israel and drove toward Ofakim via Route 241.

By 7:06 a.m., they had murdered their first victim, a civilian walking along a promenade west of the city. Soon after, they entered Ofakim from the west, opening fire on homes in the Mishor Hagefen neighborhood and dismounting on Bayit Vegan Street, where they began a door-to-door killing spree.

At the time, local IDF troops were spread thin, outnumbered and unprepared. The military presence in the city itself was minimal. No IDF force was positioned to block the infiltration or intercept the attackers inside the city.

As the attack intensified, the burden of defense fell on the Ofakim police station — whose commander, returning from the Nova festival, began issuing emergency orders by radio — and on civilians who took up arms to defend their neighborhoods. Some were joined by off-duty soldiers and cadets from the IDF’s nearby Bahad 1 officers’ training base.

From 7:15 a.m., small groups of police officers, civilians and soldiers began engaging the attackers across the city. In one early firefight, a police officer, a Bahad 1 cadet and a civilian formed an improvised unit; two were killed, and the third was wounded.

The terrorists fanned out, splitting into smaller cells. Some took over homes, others fired at civilians and vehicles, killing people at random. One group stormed a home on Tamar Street and took a couple — David and Rachel Edry — hostage.

By 7:25 a.m., the defenders began to push back. A combined force of police and civilians killed three Hamas gunmen, though two officers were killed in the exchange. Ten minutes later, another ad hoc unit eliminated a second cell.

Despite the chaos, the Ofakim police commander reached the hostage site on Tamar Street, where he was wounded by a grenade thrown from inside.

After an initial attempt to storm the home, security forces realized the Edry couple was being held hostage inside. Acknowledging the danger to their lives, police made the critical decision to isolate the building and hold fire until special forces could take over.

At 9:10 a.m., the first company from Bahad 1 reached the industrial zone outside Ofakim. Though the IDF cadets played a limited role in the fighting, their arrival helped stabilize parts of the city. Shortly afterward, police rescued a family whose home had been infiltrated by terrorists, prompting another firefight in which the final gunmen still operating in the open were killed by 10:45 a.m.

According to the probe, urban warfare challenges were severe. Narrow streets, the presence of armed civilians, and the lack of clear battle lines made combat confusing and dangerous. Civilians were forced to make split-second decisions in chaotic conditions, with little ability to distinguish between friendly forces and terrorists.

Additionally, much of the Mishor Hagefen neighborhood lacked private bomb shelters, forcing many residents to flee into public spaces or huddle near exposed communal shelters as gunfire echoed through the streets, further heightening civilian vulnerability.

By midday, the hostage crisis on Tamar Street remained unresolved. At 12:45 p.m., responsibility for the operation was formally handed over to the police’s elite Yamam counterterrorism unit. After hours of surveillance, coordination and planning, the forces moved into position.

At 2:25 a.m. on October 8, Yamam fighters stormed the Edry family home, killed all four terrorists inside, and rescued the two hostages unharmed. Rachel Edry subsequently made headlines for keeping the group of terrorists distracted with coffee and cookies for 15 hours.

One final terrorist, discovered during a sweep of the neighborhood, was killed shortly afterward.

Security operations continued for days, as Israeli forces carried out house-to-house sweeps to eliminate any remaining threats. The city was only declared fully cleared three days after the initial assault.