Israel’s Army Starts Reckoning With Its Oct. 7 Failures

A summary of the inquiry’s findings was released as IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi prepares to leave office to take responsibility for the massacre.

Rachel Stalmer, a Kfar Aza kibbutz resident, shows a visitor some of worst Oct. 7 damage at the kibbutz, in Israel on March 7, 2024. Dan M. Berger/The Epoch Times

The Israeli army’s inquiry into the Hamas terrorist group’s attack of Oct. 7, 2023, concludes bluntly: “The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) failed to protect Israeli citizens. The Gaza Division was overrun in the early hours of the war, as terrorists took control and carried out massacres in the communities and roads in the area.”

A 19-page summary of the inquiry obtained by The Epoch Times from the IDF focuses on what led to what it termed “the glaring failure of October 7th.”