Israeli army killed own soldiers 'hesitant' to face Hamas on Oct. 7

An Israeli military investigation has revealed that many soldiers were killed and wounded by "friendly fire" during Hamas' October 7 blitz on Israeli military sites and settlements that were once Arab farms and villages, local media reported.

Israel's Channel 12 broadcaster reported on Thursday that a military investigation into the Hamas attack found — based on leaked information — that "friendly fires led to the deaths and injuries of an unspecified number of Israeli soldiers who were highly hesitant" to confront the Palestinian resistance fighters.

The investigation found that Israel's military forces were deployed in "chaotic" ways in areas adjacent to besieged Gaza.

The broadcaster noted that the official investigation outcome will be published by mid-July.

"According to Israeli military estimates, the investigation into the battles at Kibbutz Be'eri [illegal settlement] will be the first report released in July," the channel said.

One of the incidents under investigation is a military commander's order to fire on a house where Israelis were kept hostage by Hamas on October 7.

Several Israeli political, security, and military officials have described the attack as "a significant intelligence failure" for the country.

Prior soldiers' testimonies also raised questions over whether the Israeli army fired on its own civilians and soldiers on October 7.

A second lieutenant from an Israeli tank unit, only identified as Michal, said before that another soldier told her to fire at the Hulit compound.

When she asked whether there were Israeli civilians, she said he answered, "I don't know, just fire."

Israel had prior intel of Oct 7 Hamas blitz

Recently, newly uncovered documents from Israeli army revealed unprecedented details of Palestinian resistance group's plans to raid Israeli military and settlements, including orders to take between 200-250 hostages, according to Israel's public broadcaster.

Kan said that the intelligence brief, prepared by Unit 8200 [an Israeli Intelligence Corps] in mid-September 2023, outlined Hamas' meticulous preparations for the surprise blitz, including training elite fighters for hostage-taking operations and planning raids on communities in the southern region.

The brief specifically noted Hamas' intention to seize between 200 to 250 hostages. The fighters later took 251 people hostage, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 41 the Israeli army says are dead, many of them in indiscriminate Israeli strikes.

Hamas says its raid that surprised its arch-enemy was orchestrated in response to Israeli attacks on Al Aqsa Mosque, illegal settler violence in occupied West Bank and to put Palestine question "back on the table."

In an assault of startling breadth, Hamas fighters rolled into as many as 22 locations outside Gaza, including towns and other communities as far as 24 kilometres from the Gaza fence.

At some places they are said to have gunned down many soldiers as Israel's military scrambled to muster response. The hours-long attack and Israeli military's haphazard response including controversial Hannibal Directive resulted in the killing of more than 1,130 people, many of them Israeli soldiers.

Palestinian fighters took more than 250 hostages and presently 116 remain in Gaza, including 41 who the Israeli army says are dead, some of them killed in indiscriminate Israeli strikes.

Israel under PM Benjamin Netanyahu's regime is under heavy pressure to launch a formal investigation into failures to stop the October 7 attack and botched army response to it.

Israel is also accused in the International Court of Justice of carrying out genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, where it has killed over 37,400 Palestinians — mostly women and children — and wounded over 85,600 so far.

More than 10,000 Palestinians are feared buried under the rubble of annihilated homes while Israeli troops have abducted some 9,500 Palestinians in occupied West Bank and besieged Gaza.