Occupation reveals details of October 7 attack: Hamas took control of Gaza Division in the first hours

The Israeli army announced on Thursday the results of the investigation into the events of October 7, 2023, highlighting "major strategic and intelligence failures" that allowed Hamas to launch the largest attack on the Hebrew state in its history.

In the report summary, the occupation army indicated that its forces "failed to protect the Israelis, the Israeli Gaza Division was outgunned in the first hours of the war with Hamas in control.

"October 7 was a complete failure, and the army failed to carry out its mission to protect Israeli civilians," a military official told reporters. "Many civilians were killed that day, and they are asking themselves loudly: Where was the Israeli army?"

Three payments
An Israeli military investigation published Thursday concluded that Hamas launched the October 7, 2023 attack in three waves, and that more than five thousand people crossed into the Gaza envelope area from the Strip.

The report summary stated that the first batch included more than 2,000 members of the elite Hamas unit who infiltrated under cover of heavy fire, noting that the second batch included 2,000 militants, while the third included hundreds of militants accompanied by thousands of civilians. He added that in total, about 5,000 militants infiltrated Israel during the attack.

An Israeli military official admitted that the army was "overconfident" and underestimated Hamas's capabilities before it launched its attack.

The investigation concluded that a fundamental misconception is that Hamas is more interested in ruling Gaza than fighting Israel.
He pointed out that the army had information about Hamas's plan to launch a large-scale attack since 2018, and that the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar first considered carrying out an operation similar to the October 7 attack in 2016.

The report said that the investigation, conducted by the Israeli army, said that it had detected indications of a possible attack, but they were not strong enough to change the army's belief that Hamas would not launch a large-scale attack.

For its part, the Associated Press quoted an Israeli military official as saying that Hamas fighters “attacked our dispatched forces and senior officers and disrupted the command and control system,” and that “the chaos following the October 7 attack led to friendly fire incidents, but they were not many.”

"The military leaders expected a ground invasion from eight border points, but Hamas attacked from more than 60, and our intelligence shows that planning for the attack began in 2017," the official said.

Pressure on Netanyahu

The report avoided criticizing Israel’s civilian leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and focused only on the military. But the findings could put pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to launch a much-needed broader investigation into the political decisions that preceded the attack.

Many Israelis believe that the failures of October 7, 2023 extend beyond the military and blame Netanyahu for a failed policy of deterrence and containment in the years leading up to the attack.

Last month, the Israeli army's chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, announced his resignation from his position, effective March 6, due to the army's failure under his command to deal with the attack.

The prime minister has not taken responsibility, saying he will answer tough questions only after the war. Despite public pressure, including from the families of some 1,200 people killed in the attacks and the 251 people held in Gaza, Netanyahu has resisted calls for a commission of inquiry.

The military's findings are consistent with previous findings by officials and analysts. The military has only released a summary of the report, and military officials have provided an outline of its findings.

Calls for the formation of an investigation committee

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid on Thursday renewed calls for Benjamin Netanyahu's government to form an official commission of inquiry into the October 7, 2023 attack, as the army did.

This came in his comment on the results of the army investigations that were announced today. Lapid said via X: “The army is showing courage and integrity, and is investigating itself without any attempt to cover up or evade its responsibility,” as he put it.

"It's time for the cowardly, failed group called the Israeli government to do the same," he added. "Instead of running away from responsibility all the time, they should learn from the army and form an official commission of inquiry."

For his part, Avigdor Lieberman, head of the Yisrael Beiteinu party, considered the Israeli army’s investigations into the October 7 attack “insufficient.” He said via the X platform: “It is clear that the security system failed (in anticipating and confronting the attack), and all those responsible for it must go.”

He added: "The October 7 government refuses to form an official investigation committee (into the attack) to examine the responsibility of the political level, and it is deliberately preventing the prisoners and families of the dead from knowing the truth."

Source: Agencies