Israel’s military confronts its shortcomings from October 7th
An IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi prepares to depart from office to take responsibility for the massacre as a summary of the inquiry’s findings has been released.
The IDF conducted an inquiry into the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, and concluded that the Israeli Defense Forces failed to protect its citizens. The Gaza Division was overwhelmed during the attack, leading to massacres in various areas.
A 19-page summary of the inquiry from the IDF highlights the failure on October 7th and focuses on erroneous strategic, operational, and tactical decisions due to faulty intelligence.
Mistakes were made leading up to the attack, which began early in the morning on a Saturday that was also a Jewish holiday. The IDF also conducted 41 inquiries into individual battles in communities, military bases, and roads.
The outgoing IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, offered his resignation to take responsibility for the attack. The summary does not name individuals and emphasizes situations and institutional mechanisms.
The war in Israel has resulted in significant losses, with 846 IDF troops, 925 Israeli civilians, and 59 Gaza hostages losing their lives.
The IDF inquiry found that Israel’s assumptions about Hamas were fundamentally flawed, leading to significant misperceptions about the threat posed by the group.
Israel’s military mistakenly believed it had control over tunneling operations and underestimated the threat posed by a surprise attack. Lessons learned included the need to prioritize eliminating threats over maintaining temporary security calm.
