IDF releases previously unseen footage of Oct. 7 fighting
The Israel Defence Forces on Monday released previously unseen video footage of the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hamas’s cross-border terrorist massacre in the northwestern Negev.
The scene at the Sderot police station after Hamas terrorists took over the building, Oct. 8, 2023. Credit: IDF.
One video clip shows members of the IDF’s elite Multi-Dimensional Unit operating in Kibbutz Re’im on the morning of Oct. 7. The kibbutz was one of the first communities attacked by Hamas terrorists that day, and IDF and police forces battled the gunmen for some 13 hours in the area.
During the confrontation with dozens of terrorists who infiltrated Re’im, the commander of the Multi-Dimensional Unit, Col. Roy Joseph Levy, 44, was killed, along with another officer, Cpt. Yotam Ben Bassat, 24.
A second video released by the IDF on Sunday shows the battle at the police station in the southern city of Sderot after Hamas took control of the area, killing dozens of people including police officers and civilians.
Sderot was one of the hardest-hit cities during the Oct. 7 massacre and was only liberated after many hours of fighting. Bulldozers were used to bring the police station down on top of the terrorists remaining inside.
The footage was filmed from the tank of the then-commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, Col. Benny Aharon, who fought a “persistent battle” against the approximately 10 Hamas terrorists holed up inside.
Roughly 1,200 Israelis were murdered on Oct. 7, with thousands more wounded and some 250 others taken into Gaza. One hundred and one hostages, both living and dead, are still being held by Hamas.
The death toll among IDF troops stands at 728 on all fronts since Oct. 7, 2023, and at 347 since the start of the Gaza ground incursion on Oct. 27.
The IDF is on high alert due to the Oct. 7 anniversary, with intelligence indicating the possibility of rocket fire, including toward Tel Aviv and the central region, as well as terrorist attacks in Judea and Samaria.
JNS
