Israeli army concludes Hamas defeated it on 7 October

An internal investigation by the Israeli military reveals that Hamas deceived Israel for years and swiftly defeated an entire Israeli division on October 7, 2023. The investigation, released on Thursday, stated that the Israeli military "failed" to protect Israeli civilians and was unprepared for the Hamas-led attack. The attack resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 people taken captive, highlighting a significant intelligence and operational failure.

The investigation found that the command and control system of the so-called "Gaza Division" under the Israeli Southern Command collapsed within hours after the Palestinian armed groups launched the attack at 6:29 a.m. Several senior Israeli military officers, including the commander of the division's southern brigade, Asaf Hamami, as well as many company and platoon commanders, were killed by Hamas militants before 7:00 a.m. This early loss of leadership significantly hampered the Israeli response.

According to Israeli security sources, only 767 soldiers were stationed on the Gaza border on the day of the attack. Approximately 5,000 Hamas militants entered the area in multiple waves by land, air, and sea. The initial investigations by the Southern Command, Operations Directorate, Israeli Air Force, and Navy found that the regional forces responsible for guarding the Gaza border were overwhelmed in the first few hours of the attack. The sheer number of attackers quickly overwhelmed the limited defenses in place.

The Israeli military missed clear signs and related preparations for the impending attack, even ignoring some reports and warnings from the previous day. Furthermore, due to the lack of an assumed direct threat, the Israeli military adhered to its usual deployment protocols, only dispatching drones for reconnaissance missions after receiving intelligence on the evening of October 6. This underestimation of the threat contributed to the devastating consequences.

The report shows that the Israeli military's Gaza Division, stationed along the 59-kilometer barrier with Gaza, was defeated in approximately 10 hours. "October 7 was a complete failure, and the IDF failed in its mission to protect Israeli civilians," a senior Israeli military official told reporters after the investigation report was released. "Too many civilians that day questioned in their hearts or aloud, where is the IDF?" The scale of the failure underscored the urgent need for systemic changes within the military.

In the first six hours of the offensive, the Hamas Qassam Brigades controlled Israeli communities near the besieged enclave, Israeli military outposts, and major roads in the western Negev region. Its militants simultaneously attacked numerous areas, estimated at 114 locations, and Israeli forces mobilized hastily, attempting to regain control with minimal forces and capabilities. The widespread nature of the attacks stretched Israeli resources thin and hampered their ability to respond effectively.

The investigation found that the ground attack was mainly launched by three groups of Hamas militants, while the maritime invasion via seven speedboats and the aerial invasion via paragliders were carried out by only 38 and 8 Palestinian militants, respectively. The Israeli military's internal investigation also found that Israel's perception of Hamas underestimated the Palestinian organization's military capabilities, instead focusing on larger threats perceived to be from Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The military viewed the attack as a form of "deception" by the Palestinian organization and did not consider a large-scale attack to be realistic or feasible. This miscalculation had dire consequences.

The investigation into the events of that day has sparked reactions from various political factions in Israel. Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government for "covering up" its responsibility for the invasion. Meanwhile, outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi stated that he would take "responsibility" for the attack. The political fallout from the attack continues to reverberate throughout Israeli society.

In late April 2024, Haaretz published a report that collected dozens of testimonies, geolocated videos, and maps, investigating the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, revealing Israel's failures in security and assistance to civilians. The report stated that residents of Israeli communities near Gaza were not rescued for hours, lost faith in the government, and some even turned to the media for help. "All of Israel's intelligence and operational systems collapsed," the report said. "All political conceptions were proven wrong. Within 24 hours, Israelis lost faith in the state's ability to protect them." The report highlighted the deep-seated trauma and loss of confidence experienced by the Israeli public.