New information was disclosed in testimonies of commanders and soldiers on Tuesday on the incident in which the five Egoz soldiers were killed in late October in southern Lebanon.
Testimonies collected in conversations with fighters and commanders revealed that troops on the ground debated whether to enter the building with covering fire to rule out the presence of terrorists or to enter stealthily to avoid exposing the force.
It was ultimately decided to enter stealthily based on the assessment that it was abandoned and did not contain terrorists. The decision to enter the building was made based on intelligence.
When the forces entered the three-story building, one of the soldiers saw a terrorist sleeping in the corner of the room.
The soldier shot at the terrorist and, according to the field investigation, killed him. From that moment, an exchange of fire erupted inside and outside the building, during which it became clear that one soldier was inside the building, raising serious concerns that he was either alive and being held captive, had been killed, or was abducted.
During the fighting, the troops had to shoot at the building and even considered throwing grenades at the terrorists, but they didn’t know if the soldier was alive or not.
During those long minutes, the soldiers called out to the fighter, but he didn’t respond.
At a certain point, a senior commander on the ground decided to open fire on the building to kill the terrorists.
The investigation further revealed that additional soldiers and commanders arrived at the area of the building to assist in the fighting and evacuation of the wounded.
During the exchanges of fire and rescue attempts, part of the command chain was killed and wounded.
The parents of the soldiers claim they heard from commanders and soldiers who were in the incident that the air cover and evacuation were inadequate and that an in-depth investigation is required to learn lessons from it. The same applies to the delayed artillery cover.
In fact, the soldiers were left on their own during this time due to the terrain, which made communication difficult, and because some commanders were not listening to the communication network.
According to military sources, the fighters and commanders called for help over the communication network, but there was no response initially.
Later, reinforcement troops from the unit arrived and faced what they described as "hellish fire" from the terrorists.
At a certain point, the commander of the Egoz Unit ordered the other teams to abandon their missions and provide urgent assistance to the forces.
The soldiers reached the building through dense undergrowth, making it extremely challenging to reach and evacuate from the building where the terrorists were hiding.
According to testimonies, some of the forces encountered mortar fire that prevented them from advancing and caused injuries.
The wounded were evacuated on dozens of stretchers under fire over a distance of two kilometers.
The soldiers criticized the cover fire that was supposed to support them during the fighting and evacuation, including criticism of the evacuation planning and execution.
Military sources who reviewed the initial investigation details said, “Alongside acts of bravery by commanders and fighters, especially the medical personnel in that Egoz platoon who operated under fire with bullets whizzing by, the Chief of Staff needs to order a flagship investigation across all areas to draw lessons for the entire army, despite it being a war. What bridged the gaps was courage and bravery.”
IDF comments in response
The IDF Spokesperson commented in response, "The commanders and soldiers of the Egoz unit have been at the forefront of IDF combat throughout the war.
"Similarly, in this encounter, the unit’s fighters and commanders pursued contact and managed the battle under complex conditions, demonstrating bravery and front-line leadership under fire."
"The initial lessons from the incident have been integrated into ongoing combat, and the investigation of the event is still underway and currently in its advanced stages.
"The initial findings of the investigation were presented to the bereaved families, and once the investigation is complete, it will be fully shared with them," the IDF said.
"Following the incident, command briefings were held within the unit to learn from it. Additionally, the unit's fighters continued to operate professionally in other areas, achieving significant successes," the military further stated.