The Attack on Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7: What Is Known About the Militants and the Shooting of a Car at the Gate

On October 7, 2023, the kibbutz Be’eri became one of the first communities attacked by militants from Hamas during the large-scale assault known as the October 7 attacks on Israel.

Part of the events of that morning were captured by security cameras and later reconstructed by journalists and OSINT researchers.

One of the most widely circulated moments shows militants shooting at a Mazda car at the entrance to the kibbutz. The footage is considered one of the earliest documented killings of civilians in Be’eri that morning.

The First Minutes of the Attack

At 06:29 a.m. local time, Hamas launched a massive rocket barrage toward southern Israel. At the same time, dozens of armed groups crossed the border from Gaza.

Among the attackers was the elite Hamas unit known as Nukhba, trained for infiltration operations and hostage taking.

Around 06:40 a.m., the first militant groups reached the area of Kibbutz Be’eri. They destroyed several security cameras and moved to control the entrances to the community.

The Shooting of the Mazda

At approximately 06:55 a.m., security cameras recorded a Mazda vehicle approaching the entrance of the kibbutz.

Inside the car were two young Israeli civilians who were apparently trying to leave the area after the rocket attacks began.

In the footage, one militant runs out from behind a tree near the road and opens fire on the vehicle with an automatic rifle. Bullets shatter the windshield and the car slowly rolls forward before stopping near the gate.

Both people inside the vehicle were killed.

The incident was later reconstructed in detail by journalists from Reuters using video footage and camera time stamps.

Were the Identities of the Gunmen Established?

Despite the existence of video evidence, the identity of the militant who fired at the vehicle has not been publicly confirmed.

The footage shows two armed militants:

wearing camouflage uniforms

carrying AK-type rifles

operating in coordination with each other.

They are believed to have been part of the Nukhba unit, which participated in the assault on Kibbutz Be’eri.

The names of the two civilians killed inside the Mazda have also not been publicly identified in open sources.

How the Attack Continued

After the first clashes, dozens of militants entered the kibbutz.

Over the next several hours they carried out:

shootings of residents

house burnings

kidnappings

attempts to break into safe rooms inside homes.

Many residents hid inside reinforced rooms known as mamad shelters while waiting for security forces to arrive.

Casualties

The attack on Be’eri became one of the deadliest incidents of the October 7 assault.

According to official reports:

101 civilians were killed

31 soldiers died during the fighting

32 residents were abducted and taken into Gaza.

What the Camera Footage Revealed

The security footage provided several important insights.

Analysts noted that many militants:

appeared familiar with the layout of the kibbutz

moved quickly toward specific locations

followed what looked like pre-planned routes.

This suggests the attackers may have had prior knowledge or reconnaissance of the community before the assault.

The Importance of Investigations

Investigations by journalists and independent analysts have helped reconstruct many details of the attack. However, several questions remain unresolved.

The identities of some militants involved in the assault are still unknown, and the names of certain victims from the earliest moments of the attack have not been publicly released.

Nevertheless, the security camera recordings remain one of the most significant pieces of evidence documenting how the events unfolded in Kibbutz Be’eri on the morning of October 7.