The investigation further found that the bravery and quick battle engagements of police officers, civilians and soldiers on the scene were the primary reasons the killing spree was halted at a relatively early stage.

Fifteen Palestinian terrorists from Gaza invaded Ofakim a little after 7 a.m., murdering 11 civilians in the first four minutes of the attack, according to Ynet. This number went up to 25 civilians and eight security forces personnel in the subsequent 36 minutes, the report added.

The IDF’s Bahad 1 Brigade (Dekel Battalion) unit was the first to arrive in Ofakim, at 9:10 a.m.—but to the wrong place, and in any case, the battles were over by that time, the investigation found. (Bahad 1 is the IDF Officers School.)

The only remaining terrorists were those who took civilian hostages in several residences in the city. Police forces rescued a family from its home on Hachita Street at 9:10 a.m. and killed the last terrorist in this area at 10:45 a.m.

Yamam, the National Counter-Terrorism Unit of the Israel Border Police, stormed the last home with hostages at 2:25 a.m. on Oct. 8, 2023, killing four terrorists and rescuing the Edri family without harm. The last terrorist in the city was found and killed an hour later during search operations, according to the investigation.

The Ofakim battle “could have ended with hundreds of people dead. [Security personnel and volunteers at the scene] realized there were terrorists, charged in, killed them one by one, and forced them to barricade themselves,” the investigation read, as cited by Ynet.

The internal inquiry was led by Brig. Gen. Oren Simcha and took six months to complete.

The findings of a parallel investigation being conducted by the Israel Police have not yet been released, Ynet reported. According to the IDF, the conclusions and tactical lessons from the battle will be addressed by the police, as it was the principal actor in fighting the terrorists.

The key takeaway of the IDF investigation was that no standby security squad was present in Ofakim and the emergency operations room was not operative, according to Ynet. Had there been an emergency operations room, the residents could have been given instructions with more efficiency, and a standby security team could have responded quicker to the threat.

This was the first time that an IDF unit was sent to fight in the midst of an Israeli city, even though the battle was already over when it arrived, according to the report.

Moreover, two IDF companies left Ofakim to rescue civilians in Kibbutz Kissufim at 2:30 p.m. and three other companies remained in Ofakim without being put to use.

After the release of the investigation, Ofakim Mayor Itzik Danino said, according to Ynet, “We heard the truth, and the truth is painful: The IDF wasn’t here when we needed it most. But this too must be said—the IDF has learned, regrouped and has been operating daily on multiple fronts ever since. We believe in the IDF’s ability to recover, to correct and to restore the public’s trust. The heroes of Ofakim weren’t born in legends—they live among us.”