Key Points
- The Israeli military has published its first report into its preparation and response to the October 7 attacks.
- The investigation looked at Israeli military strategy, battle behaviour and intelligence.
- The report found Israel had focused its intelligence and military efforts on other fronts.
The Israeli military has said it “failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians” in its first official report into its preparation and response to the October 7 2023 attacks.
Published overnight, the summary is the result of a military investigation that found Israel assumed Hamas was not interested in a full-scale conflict and it would have ample warning if that changed.
That perception resulted in a lack of preparedness and ability to act, according to the report.
“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.
In the days following the Hamas attacks, it was widely speculated in the media that there had been Israeli intelligence failures, including a misunderstanding of Hamas’ intentions and complacency caused by the country’s highly-developed security technology.
The investigation looked at Israeli military strategy, battle behaviour and intelligence before, during and after October 7 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 prewar population have been displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also been killed.
The military investigation was conducted under pressure from the Israeli opposition and the public for a national inquiry into the government’s failures on the deadliest single day in modern Israeli history.
The October 7 attacks
The coordinated offensive on Israel was led mainly by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades — otherwise known as the Qassam Brigades — the military arm of Hamas.
It started with thousands of rockets and mortar shells launched towards southern and central Israel from the Gaza strip , which is designed to intercept rockets heading into its territory.
The border was minimally staffed that day and militants were able to breach the border in at least 13 different areas, according to Human Rights Watch.
Throughout the course of the day, nearly 50 locations in Israel were attacked, including army bases, a music festival and at least 19 kibbutzim — communal settlements generally based around farms.
There was also evidence of sexual violence perpetrated throughout the attacks.
A commission of inquiry established by the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded war crimes had been committed by members of Hamas and others participating in the attack.
In its June 2024 report, the commission found the militants had “deliberately killed, injured, mistreated, [taken] hostages and committed sexual and gender-based violence”.
The Israeli military report into October 7 said 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”, and was thus caught by surprise.
Military commanders did not perceive an urgent threat leading up to the attacks and did not reinforce the troops defending the border.
A statement from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office overnight said that the military had not given the prime minister the findings of its investigations into the war.
Netanyahu has said a national inquiry would only be appropriate after the war ends.
The first phase of a ceasefire that started on January 19 is due to expire in two day’s time.
