Some Be’eri members have described the missing footage as a second wound, compounding the trauma of the attack itself. .
By Hezy Laing
Critical security‑camera footage from Kibbutz Be’eri on October 7 has gone missing, raising questions about one of the deadliest sites attacked that day as well as the IDF’s lack of response. According to a recent investigative report, Be’eri had dozens of cameras operating during the Hamas assault, and investigators expected to retrieve a full record of the events. When the footage was later examined, however, key segments were not found in the system where they should have been stored.
Channel 12’s investigative program Uvda reported that the missing footage includes moments that could shed light on the timeline of the attack, the movement of the terrorists, and the response inside the kibbutz. Be’eri suffered some of the worst casualties on October 7, with more than one hundred residents murdered, making the absence of video documentation especially significant for survivors, families, and investigators trying to reconstruct what happened.
The disappearance matters because security‑camera recordings from other communities have played a central role in understanding the events of October 7. In places like Kfar Aza, Nir Oz, and Sderot, video evidence has helped investigators piece together timelines and has provided families with answers. The absence of similar material from Be’eri leaves a gap in the historical record and adds emotional weight for those seeking clarity about the final moments of loved ones.
Kibbutz Be’eri survivors have spoken out severely on the IDF’s actions on October 7. Be’eri residents describe the first hours of the attack as a period of near‑total abandonment. Survivors recount calling the army repeatedly as terrorists moved house to house, setting homes on fire and murdering families. Many say they waited hours in safe rooms with no information, hearing terrorist gunfire and explosions while assuming help would arrive quickly. When it did not, the sense of shock was profound. Several residents have said publicly that they believed the IDF’s rapid‑response doctrine for the Gaza border would protect them, and that the collapse of that system felt like a betrayal of a decades‑long social contract.
Be’eri members have expressed frustration over the lack of clear answers years later. They want to know why the early‑warning system failed, why reinforcements took so long to arrive, and why parts of the security‑camera footage is “missing”. For many, the search is personal, tied to grief, trauma, and the need to understand how such a catastrophe unfolded in a place they believed was protected.
Kibbutz Be’eri members have expressed deep frustration and confusion over what happened to the security‑camera footage that was supposed to document the events of October 7. Residents say they were told early on that the IDF had collected all available video from the kibbutz’s internal camera system. These cameras, which normally help the kibbutz’s civilian security team track suspicious activity, were expected to provide crucial evidence about how the attack unfolded, how terrorists moved between homes, and how long residents were left without defense.
According to Be’eri members interviewed by Uvda and other outlets, the IDF informed them that a special unit had retrieved the footage on the day of the attack. Weeks later, however, families were told that the recordings of 20 cameras could not be located. Survivors say they were shocked to learn that material they believed had been secured was now missing. Several residents have said publicly that they still do not understand how footage collected by the army could disappear, especially when it represents the only visual record of what happened inside their homes.
The missing footage has reignited charges of a cover-up. Despite the fact that over two and half years have passed since the attack, not a single IDF officer has yet been stood on trial for the severe negligence which led to the barbaric massacre of over 1,200 Israeli civilians and soldiers. Israeli military analysts say the missing video fits a clear pattern of attempts to whitewash the massacre and absolve those tasked with ensuring Israel’s security of responsibility for the failure.
The IDF originally denied claimed that security camera footage from the October 7th attacks had “mysteriously disappeared” or been deleted. These reports surfaced in late 2023 when some senior reserve officers alleged that vital recordings from military databases along the Gaza border were missing, potentially hindering investigations. The claims of missing footage were then dismissed by the media as “conspiracy-based nonsense”. But the recent revelations reveal those claims to be false.
Some Be’eri members have described the missing footage as a second wound, compounding the trauma of the attack itself. They say the absence of the recordings has prevented them from reconstructing the final moments of loved ones, understanding the sequence of events, or receiving answers about the delays in rescue. Others have emphasized that they are not accusing the IDF of wrongdoing but want transparency about whether the footage was lost due to technical failure, damage, or mishandling.
Across interviews, the dominant sentiment is a desire for clarity. Be’eri residents repeatedly say they want a full accounting of what footage existed, what was collected, what is missing, and why. For a community that suffered one of the deadliest attacks in Israel’s history, the missing video is not just a technical issue—it is a barrier to truth, closure, and historical understanding.
Uvda revealed that a specialized IDF unit—normally deployed inside active combat zones—was sent on the same day to gather every possible piece of footage from the border region. According to soldiers and civilians interviewed, the unit’s mission was unusually broad: to retrieve video from private homes, vehicles, public buildings, and the closed‑circuit systems that monitor the kibbutzim. The investigation reports that the unit successfully collected large amounts of material, but that much of the footage later “disappeared” from the archives where it should have been stored.
Be’eri was one of the hardest‑hit communities during the Hamas attack. More than one hundred residents were murdered, and dozens of homes were burned or destroyed. Terrorists infiltrated the kibbutz in large numbers, moving house to house massacring residents for hours before Israeli forces even entered the area. Survivors have described hiding in safe rooms, hearing gunfire and explosions, and waiting for rescue that arrived only after a long time. Security‑camera footage from other communities has helped reconstruct timelines, but Be’eri’s internal recordings are incomplete. The absence of a full visual record has ironically made Be’eri one of the most difficult communities to document in detail.
Kibbutzim near the Gaza border generally operate layered security‑camera networks. These systems include perimeter cameras monitoring fences and access roads, internal cameras placed near communal buildings, and “kitchen cameras,” a colloquial term for the small closed‑circuit units installed near dining halls, pathways, and residential clusters. The footage is usually stored on local servers inside the kibbutz, with some communities maintaining backup drives. The systems are designed for early warning and situational awareness, later military assessments.
