Military probe of Nova festival massacre finds IDF failed to protect attendees

A military investigation of the Hamas Nova Music Festival massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, concluded that the IDF failed to protect attendees, according to findings released on Tuesday. The probe revealed that no formal security assessment had been conducted for the large outdoor event held near the Gaza border, and troops were not informed in advance that the festival was taking place.

Early in the morning of Oct. 7, more than 100 Hamas terrorists, part of the over 5,000 individuals who crossed the Gaza border, including both militants and civilians, attacked the Nova Music Festival near Kibbutz Re’im. According to the investigation, the terrorists were en route to the southern city of Netivot and came upon the festival by chance.

More than 3,000 Israelis attended the overnight party, alongside approximately 400 staff and 75 security guards, who were all unarmed. The atrocities committed included acts of sexual violence, mutilation and mass murder, resulting in the deaths of 344 young Israelis and 34 security personnel. In addition, 44 festival attendees were kidnapped and held hostage in the Gaza Strip.

The probe of the IDF’s handling of the Nova massacre was carried out by Brig.-Gen. (res.) Ido Mizrahi and focused on the IDF’s preparations for the festival, the approval of the event by Israeli authorities despite its location close to the Gaza border, and the events that unfolded during the terror attack.

The investigation concluded that “the IDF failed” to protect the partygoers at the Nova festival, which was “the single most deadly terror attack in Israel’s history.” Only 31 armed police officers were present at the party when the terrorist attacked, while the army failed to arrive at all.

The IDF was found to have made critical errors across multiple areas in relation to the Nova festival. These included a failure to adjust its defensive posture for the event, the absence of loudspeaker warning systems to alert attendees of incoming rocket fire, and the lack of a specific security assessment for the large gathering, held approximately five kilometers (3 miles) from the Gaza border.

Even after the IDF identified suspicious signs of Hamas activity during the night between Oct. 6 and 7, the Nova festival had still not been mentioned in the military discussions. The investigation also concluded that the IDF failed to assign a military liaison to coordinate with police officers securing the event and did not deploy troops near the festival site – both of which, according to the findings, were standard procedure.

Finally, the investigation found that regional Israeli forces, the Southern Command, and the Operations Directorate did not receive timely information about the massacre. The IDF was largely unaware of the ongoing attack and mistakenly believed the festival had been fully evacuated, even as partygoers were still being murdered. There was little to no coordination between the police and the IDF during the attack, the report stated.

Notably, the probe praised the “heroic” Nova festival production staff and security team, who they said “saved many civilians during the fighting.”

On Wednesday, the findings of the investigation were presented to the victims' families, many of whom dismissed the probe as insufficiently serious and accused the IDF of attempting to cover up its failures.

“The investigation revealed and verified the extent of the neglect we felt, and the magnitude of the failure that emerges from it is multi-systemic, shocking, and incomprehensible,” stated the October Council, which represents families of those killed on Oct. 7, adding that the findings were  “at best imprecise, and at worst – lies.”

The families expressed appreciation for the official response.

“We appreciate the fact that for the first time since that damned and unbearable day, an official is finally standing up to us, taking responsibility, admitting to the failures, and dealing with the anger, pain, and difficult questions.”