Israeli forces have admitted a “complete failure” to prevent Hamas’ October 7 attacks, and have acknowledged that they have underestimated the Palestinian group’s capabilities over the years.
A summary of the Israeli Army investigation, released Thursday, said it “failed its mission to protect Israeli civilians.”
“October 7 was a complete failure, and the IDF (the military) failed to fulfill its mission to protect Israeli civilians,” an Israeli Army official told reporters after the investigation was announced. “Too many civilians died that day. Speaking on condition of anonymity, officials said.
Research said Hamas was not interested in full-scale conflicts and that there was a perception that Israel would be able to issue adequate warnings and lead to lack of preparedness and ability to respond to the attack, as it had not been challenged for years.
Israel was also caught up in surprise as it focused on intelligence and military effort in other ways, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and relied heavily on “only intelligence, barriers and defensive measures.”
Since the fatal attack that caused a war with Gaza that killed an estimated 1,139 people in Israel and killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, the Netanyahu regime and the Army have been questioned about the handling of the attack.
Over 200 people were taken prisoner during the attack.
There was a widespread call for Benjamin Netanyahu to resign. The incident had already led to the resignation of Israeli spy chief Ahalong Hariba in 2024. In January, top Israeli general Herzi Halevi also resigned, citing the “frightening” security and intelligence “failures” that led to the attack.
Army Southern Commander Jaron Finkelman has also resigned.
“I accept it, the responsibility is mine. I was the commander of the Army on October 7th. I take my own responsibility, and I will also take full responsibility to all of you. And I will admit with all my subordinates who made mistakes as part of myself. [mistake]Halevi said.
The investigation concluded that Hamas attacks took place in three waves, and at its peak saw more than 5,000 fighters and civilians enter Israel.
The report said in the first wave that it was more than 1,000 Nukhba fighters, Hamas’ elite forces. They were said to be responsible for knocking out the Israeli military’s communications system and its command and control centre, creating confusion as the Army struggled to regain control.
According to the probe, the second wave involved around 2,000 fighters, and the third wave joined hundreds of invasions, with thousands of civilians involved.
Hamas claims that only hundreds of fighter jets have attacked.
Previous investigations conducted by Israeli Media Outlet Harletz found that Israel’s own troops may have fired and killed Israeli civilians during the Hamas attack to prevent Palestinian fighters from taking prisoner.
In response to the release of the investigation, opposition leader Yair Lapid updated his call to Netanyahu to form an official committee to investigate the attack.
“The Army shows courage and integrity, investigating itself without attempts to conceal or avoid that responsibility,” writes Rapid of X.
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