The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released the results of its inquiry into its own failures in responding to the October 7, 2023, terror attack by Hamas on Thursday, finding it had underestimated Hamas and misunderstood it as pragmatic.
The inquiry, as the Times of Israel noted, outlines “intelligence material that was insistently misinterpreted over the years; the military’s overreliance on having an early warning to prepare its defenses; the degree to which troops were massively outnumbered by the invading terrorists; and the failure to understand what Hamas was doing during the attack.”
In particular, the inquiry found that the IDF had underestimated Hamas’s attacking capabilities and its tunnel network; that the IDF falsely believed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (later killed by Israeli forces) to be a pragmatist; that Hamas would not attack Israel, when in fact it had begun plans to do so as early as April 2022; that it ignored or misinterpreted intelligence information; and that it had been unaware of the extent of its losses on October 7.
Yahya Sinwar talks during a rally in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa, File)
In a statement, outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, who is fulfilling a promise to resign after the conclusion of major combat in the war in Gaza and Lebanon, said:
I have seen people speak in inquiries with trembling voices, saying, ‘We failed.’ It is not easy for a commander to say, ‘I failed’—and in a moment, I will say it about myself as well. They explain, take responsibility, acknowledge the difficulty, and I am telling you there is value in this—first and foremost for the sake of learning. But people also need to go through the process, to experience, feel, and confront it in order to move forward in a better way.
I believe that an organization or an individual who cannot stand and look failure in the eye will find it very, very difficult to correct their course. Since October 7th, 2023—Simchat Torah—I make sure, every single day, multiple times a day, to look failure in the eye. And I tell you: do not try to forget, do not look away. Not from a place of weakness, but with immense strength—because that is how we will become stronger.
…
I strongly recommend that we sit here today and say: ‘This is our learning process.’ I have received letters and responses, even from people here, saying ‘You..’ and I have no problem with that. I embrace it. My responsibility is mine. I was the commander of the military on October 7th, and I have my own responsibility. I also carry the weight of all your responsibility—that, too, I see as mine. And when I see any of my subordinates who made mistakes, I see my own share in it as well.
Thursday also marked the end of “Phase 1” of the ceasefire and hostage deal with Hamas; negotiations are under way for “Phase 2,” with 63 hostages still in captivity in Gaza, 24 of whom are thought to be alive.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
