Members of Kibbutz Magen’s civilian security team prevented a massacre during Hamas’ October 7 attack while the Israel Defense Forces failed in its mission to protect the community, according to an army inquiry released on Thursday.
The probe, led by Colonel Ziv Beit Or, found that the kibbutz’s 26-member standby squad and volunteer residents successfully repelled waves of Hamas terrorists, forcing their retreat and preventing kidnappings that could have resulted in far greater casualties. The community is five kilometers from the Gaza border.
“The fighting of the members of the alert squad, the chief of the kibbutz and his deputy, together with the residents of the kibbutz who joined, repelled the terrorists, led to their retreat to the Gaza Strip, and prevented heavy casualties and damage,” the investigation stated.
The attack on Kibbutz Magen unfolded in three distinct waves beginning at 6:29 a.m., when Hamas launched thousands of rockets across southern Israel. Under cover of the barrage, approximately 70 to 100 terrorists attacked the kibbutz in successive groups. The first wave involved 20 to 30 fighters, followed by 30 to 40 in the second wave, and about 20 in the final assault.