First Sgt. Yaakov Vaknin, injured on October 7, says survivors were never interviewed for the investigation into the deadly Hamas assault. ‘That’s not how you uncover the truth.’
First Sergeant Yaakov Vaknin, who was wounded in the battle at the Kissufim base on October 7, on Sunday criticized the IDF’s recently published investigation into the battle, claiming it is full of contradictions.
“I read the report and tried to understand what it was about. I was shocked,” he said in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet. The IDF investigation concluded that “the army failed in its mission to defend the kibbutz and its residents.” In response, Vaknin said, “In the report, I saw inaccurate facts that contradict each other.”
Vaknin said that he spoke with other survivors of the battle, including female spotters who witnessed the events, and none of them were summoned to give testimony. “This is negligence,” Vaknin asserted. “The ABCs of an investigation is to question those who were there. The obvious thing to do is to ask the eyewitnesses — that didn’t happen. That’s not how you reach the truth.”
He concluded: “I hope we can make our voices heard and tell what really happened. We have evidence — photos, videos, messages that we sent, and phone calls that we made. It’s important to me that we uncover the truth for the sake of those who fell and those who survived.”
On Thursday, the IDF published the findings of its investigation into the heavy fighting at the Kissufim army base and kibbutz, located along the Gaza border, during Hamas’ October 7 massacre.
According to the findings, around 150 terrorists infiltrated the area, about 40 of whom reached the base and 60 of whom reached the kibbutz. Some were eliminated en route, others went to different destinations, and yet others ran back towards the border fence.
The battles lasted many hours and were marked by acts of heroism by soldiers, commanders, and civilians. Operational control of the base was only regained late Saturday night.
