The Israel Defense Forces' initial investigation into Saturday's attack against an IDF position by Palestinian gunmen from the Gaza Strip revealed a speedy reaction, but also confusion and lack of a decisive response.

The Gaza Division's investigation initially focused on the brigade level, and its interim conclusions have been presented to IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi.

	Advertisement

Contrary to what was initially thought, the probe found that the vehicle carrying the four Palestinian gunmen was not identified by an IDF observation post.

Rather, soldiers at nearby positions heard mortar fire, which the gunmen used as a diversionary tactic, and immediately after, at 12:57 P.M., soldiers at one outpost heard the sound of automatic weapons.

A patrol consisting of two vehicles was promptly rushed to the unmanned outpost that was under attack, and with the assistance of observation posts, they identified the gunmen.

The initial response was described as "good" and "quick" and is believed to have contained the incident.

However, the soldiers did not pursue the assailants, thinking that three of the four gunmen were hiding nearby. In reality, one gunman had been killed and the rest fled to Gaza.

This led the authors of the report to conclude that the soldiers should have displayed greater determination.