IDF: 6,000 terrorists, not 3,000, invaded Israel Oct. 7

The new numbers in the latest investigation show that fully 119 breaches were made in the border fence, not 60.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

An intense army investigation has revealed that some 6,000 terrorists invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7th, double the number previously estimated, Channel 12 News reported Saturday night.

A full 3,800 of them were Hamas’ elite Nukhba forces, while another 2,200 were terrorists from other Palestinian terror groups, along with Gaza civilians who entered Israeli border towns to plunder the houses of those murdered.

In addition, while originally it was reported that they came through 60 breaches in the fence, the in-depth probe found that the terrorists managed to create a full 119 openings in the billion-shekel barrier.

About 1,000 more Hamas terrorists also fired 4,300 rockets from the Gaza Strip towards Israel as cover for the invasion, the report said, which is also a much higher number than originally reported. Three thousand were launched in the first four hours of the attack alone, towards villages, towns and cities across southern and central Israel.

Channel 12’s Omri Maniv, who reported the shocking new statistics, wrote on X, “These numbers are simply inconceivable. They are double what we knew, and they further reveal the depth of the failure and the strength of Hamas’ raid.”

The probe was carried out by the Gaza Division and submitted to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

The terrorists murdered 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals on the day Israelis call “the Black Sabbath,” the vast majority of them civilians, including dozens of children.

It is considered the worst failure to protect the citizens of Israel in the history of the state.

The terrorists targeted residents of Gaza envelope kibbutzim and moshavim, setting whole neighborhoods alight with flamethrowers during their killing spree. They also reached towns as far as Ofakim, 26 kilometers (16 miles) from the border, completely controlling the roads in between for hours and shooting anyone who drove by.

Their largest rampage took place at the Nova dance festival just a few kilometers from the border, where 364 mostly young revelers were shot, raped and burned to death.

The terrorists also kidnapped 251 people, 101 of whom are still in captivity, although Israeli authorities have declared that they have evidence that at least 35 of them are no longer alive.

The 101 do not include six hostages who had just recently been murdered by their Hamas captors and were found Saturday by IDF forces in a tunnel in Rafah, just a kilometer from where one, Farhan al-Qadi, was rescued last week.

In response to the report, the IDF blandly responded, “The operational investigation has not yet been concluded, and it continues in accordance with the assessment of the situation and in view of operational constraints. When concluded, it will be presented to the public transparently.”