The Times of Israel March 3, 2025
24 units; little coordination all day Even when the first troops did arrive, there was no command and control directing their movements.

In the kibbutz’s neighborhood for young families, where most of the kidnappings took place in the late morning, Hamas terrorists moved around freely while troops on the kibbutz were caught up elsewhere.

The chaos was compounded by the fact that the army’s Gaza Division, which has responsibility for that area, had been overrun by terrorists and was unable to provide soldiers with intelligence, including information on how many terrorists were inside the kibbutz.

During the onslaught, some 24 different Israeli units were involved in battling Hamas in Kfar Aza, and there was little coordination between them until the overnight hours between October 7 and 8.

The probe found that clearing the community of terrorists took nearly three days. Additionally, there were significant delays in helping evacuate civilians from Kfar Aza, an operation that only properly began late at night on October 7.

IDF only arrived in Nir Oz after Hamas terrorists left because it was 'far away'

Besides all of the “standard” disasters of October 7, Kibbutz Nir Oz stands out because no IDF soldiers arrived there before the last of the some 300 to 500 Hamas terrorists attacking the kibbutz had already returned to Gaza, having killed 47 Israelis and kidnapped another 76

Put differently, much larger IDF forces came to Be’eri much earlier, but Be’eri is further north, parallel to central Gaza, whereas Nir Oz is further south, parallel to Khan Yunis in Gaza.

Over 150 terrorists were ultimately killed by Israeli forces in the Kfar Aza kibbutz and adjacent areas, and three were captured alive.
A fourth terrorist involved in the onslaught was later nabbed during the ground offensive in Gaza.