From Asluj, the Anzac Mounted Division rode along the banks of the Wadi Imshash for about , arriving about midnight at the crossroads east of Thaffha. Here, the division paused for two hours before continuing in two columns. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade column rode northeast, following the track to Bir Arara where the leading regiment, the 7th Light Horse arrived at 02:00. They waited until 04:00 for the remainder of the brigade to arrive before continuing the advance towards Bir el Hamman. The 2nd Light Horse Brigade encountered an Ottoman outpost, occupying Hill 1390 south-west of Hamam, which fired on a screen of the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade. The 7th Light Horse Regiment moved forward to occupy the Hill 1200-to-Hill 1150 line north of Hamam, at 07:00, while the brigade remained at Bir el Hamam until 09:30. The Anzac Mounted Division (less the 2nd Light Horse Brigade)—led by the Wellington Mounted Rifles Regiment (New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade) in the second column—rode north from the crossroads east of Thaffha past Goz Esh Shegeib. Here a small force of Ottoman soldiers were "brushed aside" before the advance continued to Iswaiwin. As the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade approached Iswaiwin at 06:45, the 2nd Light Horse Brigade could be seen arriving at Bir el Hamman. Opposition units were seen in trenches near Hill 1070 (also known as Hill 1069, the EEF infantry's first objective on the western side of Beersheba), and about two hostile squadrons were seen moving north from Beersheba towards Kh el Omry. Dust and smoke were also seen rising from Chetwode's XX Corps artillery bombardment, west and south-west of Beersheba. After passing Iswaiwin, the Anzac Mounted Division concentrated near Khashim Zanna, on a line from Bir el Hamman to Bir Salim Abu Irgeig.