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Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS on 20 June, 2023
Israeli Army Probes of October 7 ‘Don’t Present Full Picture,’ Says State Comptroller
Jerusalem, 3 March, 2025 (TPS-IL) -- Israeli State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman panned the Israel Defense Forces’ internal probes into the failures of October 7, telling Knesset lawmakers on Monday that the army’s findings “do not present the full picture.”
The comptroller, also known as the state ombudsman, periodically releases reports auditing Israeli preparedness and the effectiveness of government policies.
Englman, who was addressing the Knesset State Control Committee, said he plans on issuing his own report that will facilitate the committee to establish a state commission of inquiry. The committee is responsible for overseeing government activities to ensure accountability, transparency, and efficiency and works closely with the State Comptroller.
“Naturally these are military investigations,” said Englman, which are limited to operational and intelligence shortcomings and “do not present the full picture of the failures of October 7” by also probing the political leadership.
“This further strengthens the obligation to conduct an audit of the core of the failure,” Englman said, insisting that the State Comptroller is “the only body” capable of coordinating and carrying out investigations of multiple government and security agencies.
According to a series of army probes — summaries of which were released publicly on Thursday — some 5,000 terrorists from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad managed to attack numerous Israeli communities and overrun the army’s border positions. The army’s chain of command broke amid the chaos and soldiers were outnumbered. For years, the army misunderstood Hamas’s intentions, and as October 7 approached, intelligence about the looming attack was misinterpreted.
The military was also more focused on threats from Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The army’s probes only deal with issues of operations, intelligence and command, not decisions made by the political echelon.
A Knesset Committee Could Trigger Inquiry
There have been growing calls for the government to appoint an independent commission of inquiry to investigate political and military failures. Such commissions have broader authority to summon witnesses and collect evidence and are headed by a senior Supreme Court justice. They may include personal recommendations about individuals under investigation, though the government is not bound to act on them.
Such commissions are typically established by the government. However, the State Control Committee also has the authority to establish a full commission of inquiry after receiving a report by the State Comptroller.
Englman told lawmakers he plans to issue a “sharp critique” assigning personal responsibility for shortcomings and failures across political, military, and civilian levels.
He also said that his own report was delayed by opposition from the army and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), citing a June 2024 court order suspending parts of his probe.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other government ministers say a state inquiry into failings that led to Hamas’s October 7 attacks should only be held after the war. Critics accuse Netanyahu of delaying the inquiry and trying to water down the powers of a commission.
After the Movement for Quality Government in Israel petitioned the High Court of Justice to order the government to form such a commission, the justices gave the government a deadline of May 11 to update the justices on its position.
The last state commission of inquiry, which investigated Israel’s worst civilian disaster — a stampede that killed 45 people at a holy site on Mount Meron — held Netanyahu personally responsible for the tragedy in a report released in April.
At least 1,180 people were killed, and 252 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the 59 remaining hostages, 36 are believed to be dead.
