Israeli Military Investigation Exposes ‘Total Breakdown’ in Preventing October 7 Attack | Israel-Palestine Conflict Updates

The Israeli army has admitted to a “complete failure” in preventing the October 7 attack by Hamas, acknowledging that it had underestimated the capabilities of the Palestinian group for years.

A summary of an Israeli army investigation, published on Thursday, stated that it “failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians.”

“October 7 was a complete failure. The IDF (military) failed in fulfilling its mission to protect Israeli civilians,” a senior Israeli army official told reporters following the release of the investigation. “Too many civilians died that day, asking themselves in their hearts or out loud, ‘Where was the IDF?'” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The investigation revealed that the belief that Hamas was not interested in a full-scale conflict—and that Israel would have sufficient warning in case of an attack—remained unchallenged for years. This led to a lack of preparedness and the inability to respond effectively to the attack.

It also found that Israel had focused its intelligence and military efforts on other fronts, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and relied too heavily “on intelligence, barriers, and defensive measures alone,” leaving the country caught off guard.

Since the deadly attack, which killed approximately 1,139 people in Israel and triggered a war on Gaza that has claimed over 48,000 Palestinian lives, questions have been raised about the Netanyahu administration and the army’s handling of the situation.

During the attack, more than 200 people were also taken captive.

There have been widespread calls for Benjamin Netanyahu to resign. The incident has already led to the resignation of Israel’s spy chief, Aharon Haliva, in 2024. In January, Israel’s top general, Herzi Halevi, also resigned, citing “terrible” security and intelligence “failures” that contributed to the attack. The army’s southern commander, Yaron Finkelman, also stepped down.

“I accept it—the responsibility is mine. I was the commander of the army on October 7. I bear my own responsibility, and I also bear the full responsibility for all of you. And I acknowledge in every subordinate of mine who made a mistake, as part of my own [mistake],” Halevi had said.

The probe concluded that the Hamas attack occurred in three waves, with over 5,000 fighters and civilians entering Israel at its peak.

The report stated that in the first wave, more than 1,000 Nukhba fighters, the elite force of Hamas, “infiltrated” Israel under the cover of heavy fire. They were responsible for disabling the Israeli military’s communications system and command-and-control centers, causing chaos as the army struggled to regain control.

The second wave, according to the probe, involved around 2,000 fighters, while the third saw hundreds more joining the incursion, along with several thousand civilians.

Hamas has maintained that only a few hundred of its fighters carried out the attack.

An earlier investigation by Israeli media outlet Haaretz found that Israel’s own military may have fired upon and killed Israeli civilians during the Hamas attack in an effort to prevent Palestinian fighters from taking captives.

Responding to the release of the inquiry, opposition leader Yair Lapid reiterated his call for Netanyahu to form an official commission to investigate the attack.

“The army is showing courage and integrity and is investigating itself without any attempt to cover up or evade its responsibility,” Lapid wrote on X. “It is time for the cowardly, failed group called the Israeli government to do the same,” he added.