Among Hamas’s main targets in its opening strike on Oct. 7, 2023, were Israeli Air Force bases, an IDF investigation reveals. The bases included Nevatim, Ramon and Hatzerim in the Negev, and Palmachim south of greater Tel Aviv.
Hamas fired 4,500 rockets and mortar shells on the day of the invasion. Although air-raid sirens sounded in many parts of the country, the investigation found that the terrorist group was trying to hit military outposts along the Gaza border and Air Force bases.
The barrage was intense, apparently in an effort to prevent airplane takeoffs, according to a Channel 12 report on Saturday.
Hamas also planned to invade the Tel Nof Base, about 45 miles north of the Gaza Strip. The terrorists’ plan involved three waves of attack. The first two would take control of the roads. The third would storm the base using 10 pickup trucks with the intention of conquering it.
The terrorists in the pickup trucks were killed by a IAF drone near the Gaza border fence. A map of the Tel Nof Base was found on the body of one of the terrorists, Channel 12 reported.
Those leading the raid on the ground were Hamas mid-level commanders: 15 company commanders of the Nukhba unit, a special forces unit of the Al-Qassam Brigades, and several deputy commanders.
The Air Force’s inadequate response to the Oct. 7 attack, part of the larger failure of the Israel Defense Forces on that day, appears more due to a lack of preparation for such an attack than to the efforts of the terrorists.
The Air Force had not practiced scenarios involving ground invasions from Gaza at all in recent years, even after the “Great March of Return” riots starting in 2018, Kan News reported in September. Those riots involved thousands of Gazans attacking Israeli security personal along the fence.
OC Air Force Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar only learned about the existence of the Supernova Party at 4:20 p.m., about 10 hours after the start of the attack, the investigation found.
The Air Force failed to “create a picture” of the situation and knew “less than the average civilian,” the investigators concluded.
The Air Force was at low readiness on Oct. 7, with only two helicopters and one fighter jet prepared for quick takeoff. Only one IAF drone was over Gaza at the time of the attack.
