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An Israeli military investigation into the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel has uncovered significant security failures in Sderot, a border city where 72 people were killed.
The probe, reported by Ynet on Thursday, revealed that bureaucratic red tape had tied up the municipal security team’s assault rifles at an out-of-town army base.
As a result, security squad members were left with only pistols to face dozens of well-armed terrorists, complicating their defense efforts against the deadly invasion.
The October 7 assault, which saw Hamas terrorists infiltrate southern Israel, led to the deaths of 1,200 Israelis and the taking of 251 hostages.
In Sderot, terrorists drove pickup trucks through the streets, killing over 50 civilians and 20 police officers in a fierce battle at the city’s police station.
The IDF’s investigation revealed that on the day of the attack, only 22 members of the city’s security defense squad were present, armed solely with pistols. The squad is typically equipped and operated by the IDF but faced delays in receiving new rifles.
The issues surrounding the security team’s weaponry began in 2022, when the then-chief of the security squad handed the rifles back to the IDF’s Gaza Division.
The process of returning the weapons to the squad was stalled by bureaucracy when a new chief, Ronen Gabay, took over months later.
The army had conditioned the return of the rifles on ensuring that members could safely store them in their homes, but this requirement had not been met.
Mayor Alon Davidi was reportedly unaware of the situation until the morning of the attack, when he learned that his city’s security team was unarmed for the crisis.
The probe further revealed that the squad was not provided with proper training by the IDF, further hindering their ability to defend against the attack.
In addition to the security failures, the IDF also highlighted that many police officers, despite gathering at the station, did not spread out across the city.
This lack of coordination, combined with poor intelligence, left them unaware of the unfolding events across Sderot.
The investigation also examined the massacre of 13 elderly people, who were killed by terrorists at a bus stop. The group had been waiting for a bus after their vehicle broke down when Hamas launched its assault.
A nearby public bomb shelter, designed to open automatically during a rocket attack, failed to function, leaving the elderly Israelis exposed to the terrorists, who shot them dead.
Following the attack, the Sderot municipality acknowledged the IDF’s responsibility for ensuring the security team had adequate weaponry.
It also refrained from commenting on the ongoing legal proceedings related to the shelter incident, where families of the victims have filed a lawsuit against the municipality and Motorola for the shelter’s failure to open.
While some security improvements have been made, including a better-funded security squad in Sderot, tensions between Ronen Gabay and the newly appointed head of the municipal security department led to Gabay’s dismissal. The search for a new security chief is currently underway.
The IDF’s internal investigations into the broader failures surrounding the October 7 attack are set to be concluded by the end of January, with the findings expected to be presented to the public and the families of the victims.