IDF probe into West Bank terror attack finds command failures after two killed

Significant operational and command failures marked the military's response to the July 24 West Bank attack in which IDF Maj. Yuval Ezra, 27, and Capt. (res.) Benayahu Mellet, 32, were killed, an IDF investigation published on Wednesday found.The investigation found that the soldiers and local security personnel who entered the confrontation acted courageously and prevented further casualties but reached a rapidly expanding violent incident with insufficient forces, an incomplete understanding of what was happening, and serious failures in command and medical evacuation.Four Palestinians from the Ramadan family were also killed during the confrontation near the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus. The IDF said Palestinian attackers were killed in the exchange, but the findings released Wednesday did not detail the individual role of each of the four or explain the circumstances in which each was shot.The probe, published nearly two weeks after the incident, was presented to IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir by Central Command chief Maj.-Gen. Avi Bluth and Judea and Samaria Division commander Brig.-Gen. Kobi Heller.Mellet was a member of Gilad Farm's local emergency response squad and served in the reserves in regional defense. Ezra was an Artillery Corps battery commander who had returned to reinforce the sector after the military raised its level of readiness.West Bank hike not coordinated with security forcesThe Israeli group had entered the area as part of an organized excursion arranged by a group that runs similar trips across the West Bank. The trip had not been formally coordinated or approved through the security channels required for entering the area, the investigation found.Military observers later identified several people throwing stones at the Israeli group, prompting the first soldiers to be sent to the scene.The force remained with the hikers as the group spread across an increasingly large area. The investigation found that the number of soldiers present was inadequate in relation to the scale of the violence, the number of hikers and the number of Palestinians involved.When a second clash began, additional personnel arrived, including Ezra and Mellet. They immediately attempted to separate the two groups and direct the Palestinians back toward Tal.During the confrontation, Mellet's rifle was seized and was subsequently used by a Palestinian man to open fire.The investigation concluded that Ezra was killed while fighting him. The source of the fire that killed Mellet has not been determined.Four Palestinians killed, two wounded, during altercationThe IDF said Palestinian attackers were killed, two others were wounded, and the surviving suspects involved in the attack were detained. Two wounded suspects were arrested hours later, during a daytime raid on the hospital in central Nablus to which they had been evacuated.The probe found that the rules of engagement were clear and allowed the forces to open fire as necessary to remove the threat. The failures instead concerned the size and conduct of the force, the management of the scene, and the wider military response.Other forces in the sector did not act effectively enough to establish a complete picture of the incident, send sufficient reinforcements, and dispatch medical personnel when they were needed, the investigation found.The probe identified a particularly serious failure during the evacuation. After Ezra was removed from the scene, Mellet remained wounded on the ground for several minutes, receiving treatment from a civilian medic without any military force present.The IDF said that leaving Mellet without military protection was inconsistent with its professional and ethical obligations, under which the security and well-being of civilians take precedence over those of the soldiers sent to protect them.While the investigation provided a detailed account of the military response, it left several central questions about the wider confrontation unresolved.It did not determine whether the hikers could have withdrawn before the violence escalated, who initiated the second physical clash, or whether actions by any of the Israelis crossed the line from self-defense into unlawful violence. It also did not provide an individual account of how each of the four Palestinians was killed.The findings did not support earlier claims that the hike had been organized to provoke a confrontation – but neither did they examine the organizers' intentions or the broader practice of entering sensitive areas without formal military approval.Ezra was an Artillery Corps battery commander who had volunteered to reinforce the sector amid heightened tensions. Since the July 24 attack, the IDF has reinforced its deployment in the West Bank and launched a broad arrest and counterterrorism operation in the Nablus area.On the recommendation of the head of the IDF Personnel Directorate, Zamir approved Mellet's posthumous promotion to the rank of captain. Mellet had been undergoing officer training at the time of his death.Bluth said Ezra and Mellet had deliberately moved toward the danger to protect the hikers, charging at the terrorists and helping prevent a significantly greater loss of life.At the same time, he said the incident exposed operational and command failures that required immediate action, including the force's numerical disadvantage, the soldiers' conduct during the confrontation and the medical evacuation process.Zamir orders investigation conclusions be adoptedBluth said violent incidents in open areas and on the outskirts of Palestinian villages were becoming increasingly common and must be treated as a likely operational scenario. Forces must study potential flashpoints, receive appropriate briefings and be prepared for similar confrontations, he said.Zamir adopted the conclusions of the command investigation and ordered that its lessons be implemented immediately, saying the incident raised questions requiring examination from the tactical level through the wider military system.He instructed commanders to ensure that civilian entry into areas requiring security coordination was approved in accordance with Central Command and Judea and Samaria Division procedures.Zamir praised the intelligence observers and combat collection personnel who first identified the developing threat, as well as the operation that led to the arrest of the wounded suspects in the Nablus hospital.“This was a serious terrorist attack in which we lost two dear fighters,” Zamir said. “Yuval and Benayahu sought contact with the enemy, demonstrated fighting ability and prevented more serious harm to the hikers.”The IDF said it would continue accompanying the families of Ezra and Mellet.Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.