The Israeli military drastically underestimated the capabilities of Hamas before its attacks on Israel on October 7th, 2023, and “failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians”, a summary of an Israeli military investigation published on Thursday said.
The perception that Hamas was not interested in a full-scale conflict and that Israel would have ample warning if that changed went unchallenged for years, the summary said, resulting in a lack of preparedness and ability to respond to an attack.
“The belief was that Hamas could be influenced through pressures that would reduce its motivation for war, primarily by improving living conditions in the Gaza Strip,” the report said.
The investigation looked at Israeli military strategy, battle behaviour and intelligence before, during and after October 7th, 2023, when Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 48,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault on Gaza since then, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste and most of the territory’s 2.3 million pre-war population has been displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say. About 400 Israeli soldiers have also been killed.
The military investigation was conducted as calls grow from within the Israeli opposition and civil society for a national inquiry into the government’s failures on the deadliest single day in modern Israeli history.
Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has said a national inquiry would be appropriate only after the conclusion of the war.
The military investigation found Israel had focused its intelligence and military efforts on other fronts, such as Hizbullah in Lebanon, and relied too heavily “on intelligence, barriers and defensive measures alone”, and was thus caught by surprise.
Military commanders did not perceive an urgent threat leading up to October 7th attacks and did not reinforce the troops defending the border.
A statement from the Israeli prime minister’s office on Thursday said the military had not given the prime minister the findings of its investigations into the war.
Earlier, the final four bodies of hostages in the deal’s first phase were handed over in return for 643 Palestinians either detained by Israeli forces in Gaza or jailed in Israel. The bodies were returned without a public display of the coffins before crowds in Gaza, after such displays angered Israel.
President Isaac Herzog in a post on X confirmed the bodies were those of Tsachi Idan, Itzhak Elgarat, Ohad Yahalomi and Shlomo Mantzur, all abducted during the October 7th, 2023 attack from their kibbutz homes near Gaza.
The first phase of a ceasefire that began on January 19th is due to expire on Saturday.
Israel announced on Thursday it was sending negotiators to Cairo for talks, seeking to extend the first phase of the ceasefire, in the apparent aim of securing the release of more hostages while delaying any final deal on Gaza’s future.
Israel foreign minister Gideon Saar told reporters in Jerusalem the delegation would travel to Egypt to see whether there was common ground to negotiate an extension to the truce.
“We said we are ready to make the framework longer in return to release more hostages. If it is possible, we’ll do that.”
Two government officials told Reuters that Israel was seeking to extend the initial phase, with Hamas freeing three hostages each week in exchange for Palestinians held by Israel.
The warring sides have not spelled out what would happen beyond Saturday if the first phase of the ceasefire expires with no agreement. Egypt and Qatar are mediating between Israel and Hamas, with the backing of the United States. – Reuters
