New details of Hamas assault on Nahal Oz

Two minutes and eight seconds. That’s the time Hamas terrorists estimated it would take them to reach their target, Kibbutz Nahal Oz, from their starting point in Gaza City’s Shejaiya neighborhood.

This chilling detail, along with other instructions and methods of operation, appears in “Operation 402″ — Hamas’s attack order for the conquest of the kibbutz on Oct. 7 that left 15 residents dead and eight kidnapped. Alongside stories of heroism, questions arise regarding the Israeli military’s performance that day.

Operation 402

Drawn on impressive aerial photographs in Operation 402, a green arrow shows the short, simple route taken by dozens of heavily armed Hamas terrorists on motorcycles as they raided the kibbutz on the morning of Oct. 7. It starts at the outermost building in Shejaiya and stretches directly eastward.

Other operation orders prepared by Hamas for the capture of communities in southern Israel have been revealed in the past, but Operation 402 is undoubtedly the most detailed published to date. Written in military language with more than 10 pages of data and instructions, members of Hamas’s “military” wing laid out the step-by-step plan for the massacre.

Nahal Oz victims

There’s no need for Hamas’s aerial photographs to understand how close Nahal Oz is to the border with Gaza. Since its establishment in 1951, the kibbutz has suffered from its proximity to the Strip, from fedayeen infiltrations, through more than 20 years of Qassam rockets and mortar shells, to the “Great March of Return” riots held throughout 2018 that enveloped the kibbutz in thick smoke every Friday.

But even veteran residents of Nahal Oz couldn’t have imagined Oct. 7, when 15 kibbutz members were murdered — Staff Sgt. Ilan Fiorentino, Staff Sgt. (res.) Ran Poslushni, Shlomo Ron, Shoshi Brosh, Haim Livne, Yasmin, Yaniv, Keshet and Tchelet Zohar, Dikla Arava, Tomer Arava-Eliaz, Noam Elyakim, Maayan Idan, Somkuan Pansa-ard and Joshua Mollel.

Eight people were kidnapped from the kibbutz on that Black Saturday — Tsachi Idan and Omri Miran, who are still in captivity; Judith Raanan and her daughter Natalie, American citizens who were released after 14 days; sisters Dafna and Ela Elyakim and Alma Avraham, who were released after 51 days; and Clemence Felix Matanga, a Tanzanian citizen who was murdered and whose body is being held in Gaza.

Since Oct. 7, Nahal Oz has been a closed military zone. Although it is almost empty of residents, the kibbutz is still well-maintained — a group of volunteers tends to the greenery so it doesn’t grow wild. The green lawns are waiting for the community to return home.

On a visit to the kibbutz last week, it’s easy to imagine the pastoral scene of that Simchat Torah morning. It’s also easy to imagine the dust cloud raised by the motorcycles on which Hamas terrorists rode on their short journey from nearby Shejaiya.

The IDF investigation into the battle in Nahal Oz has not yet been completed, and its publication is not expected soon. However, the remarkable bravery displayed by the kibbutz’s emergency response team is already evident.

Despite losing its security coordinator, Ilan Fiorentino, in the opening minutes of the assault, this small group, along with a few Border Police officers who were spending the weekend in Nahal Oz, mounted a fierce resistance against dozens of heavily armed terrorists. In the face of overwhelming odds, their courageous actions undoubtedly prevented an even greater tragedy in the kibbutz. Only after six and a half hours would the first IDF soldiers arrive at the kibbutz gate to finally clear it of terrorists.

Members of the emergency response team described their experiences in “Testimony 710,” an extensive civilian documentation project that recently went online.

Now, in a first-of-its-kind reconstruction based on these testimonies, along with internal materials and the Hamas operation order, it is possible to get a full picture of the battle. From this emerge, just as in the IDF’s investigation of the battle in Kibbutz Be’eri, questions regarding the army’s performance in Nahal Oz. As in Be’eri, in the case of Nahal Oz, it turns out that during the clearing of the kibbutz from terrorists, IDF soldiers accidentally killed at least one Israeli civilian.

Top secret

The fourth battalion of the Hamas Gaza Brigade is the Shejaiya Battalion, which has caused trouble for the IDF since “Operation Cast Lead” in 2009. In 2014’s “Operation Protective Edge,” the battalion also inflicted heavy casualties on Israel. In the current war, the army operated in this sector three times and still hasn’t defeated it decisively. The third company of the battalion belongs to the Nukhba (Arabic for “elite”) Force, Hamas’s special forces unit. Operation 402, which bore the heading “Top Secret,” was assigned to this company.

Force commander “Abu Salama” received the document mere hours before setting out. According to the battle order, the raiding force on Nahal Oz consisted of 27 terrorists, who advanced on 14 off-road motorcycles in two columns.

In the “communications” section the order states, “Photos will be taken using head cameras and phones, in addition to the presence of a media photographer.” This instruction clarifies how important it was for Hamas to broadcast live the atrocities it committed.

The order also included three aerial photographs of the area, which, in addition to the route of attack, indicated the locations of IDF communication antennas, cameras and motion radars, along with guard posts, barbed wire fences and dirt mounds. The entry point to the kibbutz was located in its southeastern corner, that is, in the part furthest from the Gaza Strip, a location that Hamas operatives probably assessed would be a weak point.

After completing the first stage, rapid arrival at destination, the terrorists would move to the second stage — conquering the kibbutz. According to the order, the force’s sappers would breach holes in the fence using explosive charges, through which their comrades would enter for the mission and split into two groups.

One group would focus on raiding the eastern part of Nahal Oz, while setting ambushes and booby-trapping houses. This group’s mission was to take over the clubhouse and dining hall and also raid the secretariat, which, according to Hamas, “is considered an important source of information for our forces” from which communication with factors outside the kibbutz is conducted.

The second group of terrorists would focus on the western side of Nahal Oz, take over its visitors’ center, “clear” the kindergartens, and blow up the kibbutz’s communication antennas. Then, they would gather hostages from the first group and concentrate them in the kindergartens.

Section 5 of the plan states that if there is a need for water and food supplies, they can be obtained from the grocery store, which can serve as a “Source of logistical support for the forces — food, drink, fuel, gas.”

Simultaneously with the conquest of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, another Hamas force raided the adjacent Nahal Oz IDF outpost and completely conquered it, inflicting heavy casualties.

The lookout post’s command and control center were breached, and most of the female field observers were shot dead. Seven female IDF observers were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip. The people of Nahal Oz quickly realized that help would not come from the direction of the nearby outpost.

“At some point, I called a friend and told him, ‘You must save us and bring the army. There are dozens of terrorists in the kibbutz, and we’re alone.’ I really cried for help,” said Barry Meyerowitz, co-manager of the Nahal Oz community and a member of the emergency response team who fought the terrorists on Oct. 7. “The friend said, ‘I’m checking what can be done,’ then I realized there’s no one to help us.”

Emergency response team

Even if they didn’t meet the ambitious target of two minutes and eight seconds, the terrorists of the Shejaiya Battalion certainly managed to infiltrate Nahal Oz quickly. Already at 7 a.m., half an hour after the start of the attack, reports began to be received of terrorist gunfire inside the kibbutz. In the hours that followed, dozens more armed men would enter the community, along with looters who would take anything they could get their hands on.

According to army estimates, on Oct. 7, about 100 heavily armed terrorists invaded Nahal Oz.

However, as to the second part of their mission — conquering the kibbutz and safeguarding themselves there with many hostages — the Hamas terrorists failed.

Although it is the Israeli community closest to the border with Gaza (except for Kibbutz Kerem Shalom), and although the terrorists stayed there for long hours with a huge numerical advantage, Nahal Oz did not fall.

The terrorists managed to murder many of the kibbutz residents in cold blood and kidnap eight, but at no stage did they completely control it. What prevented this from happening was the kibbutz’s emergency response team.