Some Israeli civilians caught in crossfire on 7 October, finds NYT report

An investigation published by the New York Times on Saturday outlined in-depth details of Hamas' attack on Kibbutz Be'eri on 7 October, a community in southern Israel. 

The investigation was based on testimonies, text messages, video footage and phone recordings. 

The report found that 97 civilians were killed during the attack, constituting around one in ten people living in the kibbutz.

It recounts an incident in which a number of Israeli captives being held by Palestinian fighters in Be'eri were killed during crossfire with Israel's military, in what was described by the report as "a delayed and chaotic military response". 

The Israeli military launched a rocket-propelled grenade at the house, according to witnesses. 

Barak Hiram, an Israeli general in charge of recapturing the kibbutz from Hamas fighters, recalled telling his men: "Break in, even at the cost of civilian casualties."

Shrapnel from an Israeli tank which fired shells at the house killed at least one Israeli civilian, according to his wife who was interviewed in the report. Only two of the fourteen Israeli captives in the house survived. 

Around 1,200 Israelis were killed in total during Hamas' attack on 7 October, the majority of whom were civilians.