Israel’s Top Soldier Orders Probe Into Military’s October 7 Failures

Jerusalem, 20 February, 2024 (TPS) -- The Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces announced on Tuesday the start of an internal probe into the military’s failures of October 7.

“We will soon begin the process of investigating the events of the seventh of October and what led to them, despite the fact that we are still at war,” said Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi.

“In the name of learning, we have the duty to investigate. This is a necessity and not a privilege. Only then will we be able to understand in what way we could have acted and in what way we will act in the future to better protect the citizens of Israel. Each unit and each force will investigate the battles and the events in which they participated and up the chain of command we will investigate level by level.”

At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7. Of the remaining 134 hostages, Israel recently declared 31 of them dead. More Jews were killed on that day than on any single day since the Holocaust.

In January, Halevi selected a team of investigators to lead the inquiry. Members of the team include former Chief of Staff Shaul Mofaz, former Military Intelligence Directorate head Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash, former Southern Command leader Sami Turgeman and former Operations Directorate chief Yoav Har-Even.

The inquiry will investigate the IDF General Staff, military intelligence, the deficiencies of the Gaza border defenses and general operational matters.

Its mandate does not include decisions made by the political echelon.

A separate independent commission of inquiry with a broader mandate including political failures is expected to take place after the war.