Israel Air Force commander Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar on Sunday said that the primary mission of the air force, from this point on, would shift to paving the way for ground troops to invade Gaza.
Bar said that the air force is “laying the groundwork for the most effective possible ground maneuvers, removing as many threats as possible.
“We will do what is needed, such that if it is decided to maneuver [invade Gaza], we will enable the best possible land invasion, which will give our troops operational freedom,” added the air force chief.
Regarding balancing threats in the South from Hamas and Hezbollah in the North, he said the IAF is “focused at this moment on fighting in the South, but is extremely ready and at high-levels of preparedness for any developments in the North.” He added that “the air force, including all of its units, is distributed in a balanced way to be able to respond with airstrikes and to attack wherever is needed.”
Addressing the IDF’s intelligence failures on October 7, which enabled Hamas’ initial successful invasion, he said the military is “hurting, but we are fighting...we are probing and improving.”
'We are hurting, but we are fighting'
New details have been revealed regarding the air force’s involvement in the early hours of the war. Like much of the military, it was not involved in the first hour or so from 6:30 a.m. Saturday, but by around 8:30 a.m., helicopter units were providing support gunfire and missile fire to residents at Kibbutz Be’eri.
From the kibbutz, around five helicopters in the early hours were hopping from scene to scene among Nahal Oz, back to Beeri, Hulit, Nir Oz, Kerem Shalom, and a variety of areas right along the border fence.
Numerous Hamas terrorists, in vehicles and on foot, were picked off by these helicopters as they swooped through. However, in the first few minutes of arrival, some pilots had no idea what was going on and thought they were helping with a minor incident where a border protest got out of hand.
First responders didn't have the full picture
Even after providing initial support at Be’eri, they did not all realize the scale of the invasion. When they left Be’eri the first time, they thought they had succeeded. Only when they arrived at Nahal Oz and saw large numbers of Hamas invaders streaming across the border, did they “remove the gloves” and permit free open-fire rules on Hamas targets.
Even after that, it was not easy for many hours, as Hamas terrorists’ are not a common sight on the Israeli side of the border and helicopter pilots’ were not always sure who was Israeli and who was Hamas. In one case, a helicopter fired warning shots to see how those on the ground reacted to seeing an IDF helicopter – if they waived in support or scattered in fear.
There was also a risk within a village of hitting Israelis unintentionally while firing on Hamas terrorists who were very close by. In one case, a helicopter left Israelis in a rough situation in Holit, because there simply was no way to help without endangering those same Israelis.
Ultimately, the air force struck some 300 targets in the first four hours. Helicopter units were used to help escort Shaldag and Shayetet 13 special forces units into combat without being ambushed. But by the end of that first day, pilots still did not have the full picture.