Israel's military releases first report on 7th October 2023 failures

**Israel’s Military Reports on Failures During Hamas Attack**

The Israeli military has published its first official report on the mistakes that led to the country’s failures during a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. The report concludes that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) failed to protect Israeli civilians.

**Misjudging Hamas’s Intentions**

According to the report, the IDF misjudged Hamas’s intentions and underestimated its capabilities. The military had assumed that Hamas was not planning a large-scale war, despite evidence from 2018 onwards that suggested otherwise. This perception was reinforced by Hamas’s own deception tactics.

**Complacency Within the Military**

The report identifies a broad streak of complacency within the military about Hamas’s intentions and how to deal with the threat it posed. It says that over time, there developed a significant gap between intelligence assessments and reality. The report also highlights a decline in deep familiarity with Hamas’s worldview.

**Calls for Reform**

The report calls for deep reform of the intelligence directorate’s culture, including fostering intellectual openness, scepticism, listening, learning, debate, and constructive disagreement. It says that the desire to protect valuable intelligence sources contributed to the military’s failure to raise the alert level before October 7.

**Key Findings**

Some key findings from the report include:

* The IDF failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians.
* The Gaza Division was effectively defeated for several hours on October 7, impairing its ability to respond effectively.
* There was significant difficulty distinguishing between IDF troops, civilians, and terrorists.
* Wounded soldiers were evacuated before civilians in some incidents.

**Outgoing Chief of Staff Takes Responsibility**

After presenting the findings to commanders, the outgoing chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, took full responsibility for the failures. He said that he embraces his responsibility for the mistakes made by the military.