The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported on Wednesday that Hamas terrorists killed surveillance troops based at Nahal Oz on October 7 with a “toxic flammable substance” to pave the way for them to rape, murder, and kidnap more than 1,200 Israeli civilians.
An IDF investigator told Israeli media that Hamas terrorists flung the “unspecified” toxic substance into the Nahal Oz command center, touching off a fast-spreading fire and releasing clouds of toxic gas that could “cause suffocation in a few minutes or even less than that.”
According to the IDF source, the 22 personnel stationed at Nahal Oz huddled in the command center and tried to keep the poisonous smoke at bay by stuffing wet paper towels under the door.
This tactic proved unsuccessful, so they attempted to flee, only to discover the emergency exit was on fire. The only usable exit proved to be a small window in one of the bathrooms, but only seven soldiers were able to escape through it, according to the report.
It was not clear from the IDF source if the toxic gas was a deliberate component of the weapon Hamas used against the Nahal Oz base or if the poisonous fumes were released by materials catching fire in the building.
Israeli officials have said one of the Hamas terrorists killed during the October 7 attack was carrying plans for a cyanide weapon on a USB drive. Intercepted Hamas cables have discussed using chemical weapons but did not include firm information about whether Hamas has manufactured or deployed them.
The Nahal Oz base was a surveillance outpost located within a mile of the Gaza border. Personnel at the base monitored a network of cameras and coordinated military responses to incidents in the border region. They also had access to remote weapon systems, which they used against the Hamas attackers when the full scale of the October 7 operation became apparent. Most members of the observer corps are women.
One of the women murdered at Nahal Oz was 19-year-old Cpl. Shirel Mor. Her mother, Edna Mor, castigated the Israeli government on Tuesday for not doing enough to prevent the October 7 atrocities and said no senior officers were dispatched to explain Shirel’s death to her family.
“It wasn’t only Hamas who killed our children. It was the government, the decision-makers in the army; they were also accomplices,” Edna said, furiously accusing the government of “sweeping everything under the rug” to cover up its failures.
“I, personally, and many other parents, will not accept resignations,” she said. “They need to sit in prison without rank and without a pension.”
