Kibbutz Gevim defenders prevented massacre, IDF failed: Probe

The IDF only arrived at Kibbutz Gevim nearly three hours after the attempted invasion.

By World Israel News Staff

The emergency defense squad of Kibbutz Gevim, a Gaza-adjacent community, successfully staved off invading terrorists on October 7, 2023, preventing a massacre of its residents.

A military probe released Tuesday morning revealed that the IDF failed to respond to the infiltration in a timely manner and credited the local squad with saving the lives of civilians in the community.

According to the IDF investigation, eight armed terrorists were spotted in the vicinity of the kibbutz at about 7 a.m., having breached the border from Gaza under cover of heavy rocket fire from the Strip.

Within minutes, Kibbutz Gevim’s security coordinator alerted the local defense squad and ordered members to arm themselves. By 7:25 a.m., the terrorists had reached the front gate.

One defender at the gate was shot and wounded, along with two other residents. All three survived their injuries.

Despite being hit, the security coordinator returned fire, forcing the attackers to retreat. Before fleeing, the terrorists hurled a grenade at the kibbutz and then drove toward nearby Moshav Yakhini.

At Yakhini, the terrorists murdered several residents and set up a roadblock on the highway between the two communities, ambushing and killing motorists who attempted to pass.

IDF backup reached Kibbutz Gevim only at 10:30 a.m. — nearly three hours after the attempted invasion. Together with the local squad, soldiers then rescued 12 civilians who had been hiding in a gas station near the kibbutz.

Though no Gevim residents were killed inside the community itself, two of its members lost their lives during the massacre.

Ziv Hajbi, 29, who was born and raised in Kibbutz Gevim but lived in Tel Aviv, was murdered at the Nova Music Festival.

Gevim resident Shlomi Davidovitch, 50, was killed while on an early-morning bike ride. After taking cover from the rocket fire in a roadside bomb shelter near the kibbutz, he was shot by invading terrorists.