17 Thai and Nepalese workers were killed in the Kibbutz Alumim by Hamas invaders on October 7 because there was no real plan to protect them, the IDF’s probe revealed on Wednesday.
In the wider area around Alumim, 57 Israelis or foreign workers were killed.
Five people were kidnapped, three of whom were returned, and two of whom are still being held by Hamas or other terror groups.
IDF sources have acknowledged that there was no specific plan to defend the mostly Thai workers, whose living quarters were closest to the Gaza border and too distant from the rest of the village to defend both areas initially on October 7, and that there is still no such plan in place.
To be clear, Israeli intelligence and operations have undergone a transformation since October 7 in how they conceive of Hamas and a possible invasion, but a major lesson in other areas, which seems to have been ignored to date in Alumim, is to have backup plans ready in case an invasion does succeed initially.
Such backup plans in other areas have involved moving certain facilities farther away from the border, changing the number of security forces set to defend them at all times, or changing the nature of the facility itself.
Less media attention
Alumim has received much less attention from the media, unfortunately likely because most of the deaths were foreign Thai and Nepalese workers, and not Israeli citizens.
That is not the only issue with the handling of Thai workers on October 7.
One Thai worker was shot dead by Israeli security forces hours after most of the fighting was over, despite his being unarmed and moving toward the soldiers from a distance.
There have been no disciplinary measures, even mild ones, for the soldiers who mistakenly shot him believing he was a threat.
The soldiers said that he was running toward them and yelling, though afterward, they realized he was yelling at them in Thai.
IDF sources said that in normal circumstances, it would have been better, even if the soldiers thought he was an enemy, given that he was unarmed and at a distance, to have fired warning shots and then aimed for his knees, to wound and not kill him.
This would have allowed him to live once they discovered their error in mistaking him for a Hamas invader.
However, given the poor visibility at the hour in question and the extreme pressure all Israeli forces were under given the massive and unexpected 5,500 Gazan fighter invasion, the IDF has managed such incidents with an unusual amount of leniency.
In another incident, two Israelis fleeing from the Nova Festival ran into someone’s home in Alumim to hide from the Hamas invaders.
The presence of unknown trespassers in the home was reported to security forces, who came to the scene and shot both of them, with one dying and one being wounded but surviving.
While this incident was also disturbing, the two Israelis were in much closer quarters to the security forces, giving them less time than other security forces had with the Thai worker to have fired warning shots or aimed for their legs.
Other aspects of the report noted that most of the killing was perpetrated by only around 10 Hamas invaders who penetrated the border on five motorcycles before 7:00 a.m. on October 7.
They first circled around the back of the Alumim kibbutz to make an initial penetration and carried out some smaller attacks, but then proceeded to the front gate.
These invaders faced some initial resistance, though most of the volunteer security team did not rally until later due to communications problems.
Following the initial resistance, they noted that the foreign workers’ area was undefended and descended on the workers, killing and wounding a bunch of them.
Eventually, much of this first small wave of invaders was repelled, and some village security team members made it to the Thai workers to check on them, only to leave shortly after to defend other spots.
Around 9:20 a.m., a second wave of around 40-50 Nukhba terrorists attacked the area. They also faced resistance and eventually found undefended Thai workers and perpetrated a second round of killing and taking hostages.
Eventually, Police YASAM special combat forces came through the area to provide assistance.
After they arrived, a small third wave of Gazan invaders tried to attack but were pushed back.
Next, some Israel Prison Service fighters arrived around 11:30 a.m., followed by Yahalom special forces, Shaldag special forces, and Golani Brigade fighters.
IDF sources said that Alumim received heavier reinforcements, and earlier than some other areas, because it was centrally located near Beeri and the Nova Festival.
Many of the forces which entered Alumim to help were not actually assigned to go there but were on their way to those other locations and happened to notice fighting in Alumim along the way and deviated from their assignments.
This is in contrast to the probe of Nir Oz, much farther South, where no reinforcements arrived until around 1:00 p.m. when it was too late, and all of the Gazan invaders had already left with their hostages, having killed 47 Israelis and taken 76 hostages.
To the extent that in the earliest hours, Alumim was left defenseless, the probe said this was due to the fact that the nearby Nahal Oz IDF base, which was supposed to provide defenders, was itself surrounded and under attack.
Further, IDF sources said that the IDF position “the Shield of Alumim”, despite its name, was not actually meant to protect Alumim itself, but Nahal Oz and Kfar Aza, something those forces also mostly failed to do, being overwhelmed.
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