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The Israeli army has officially acknowledged its responsibility for failing to repel the October 7, 2023, attack near the Gaza Strip, revealing “shocking” details about the assault.

Israeli army radio published the main findings of the investigation, which included six key conclusions. It stated: “The most important conclusion drawn by the Israeli army is that, first and foremost, it never considered the possibility of a large-scale surprise attack. This scenario was deemed unlikely, or even impossible. This was a fundamental issue for which the Israeli army was unprepared.”

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A Resounding Defeat

It added: “The Gaza Brigade was defeated within a few hours. Between 6:30 AM and 12:30 PM, the Israeli army was unable to regain control of the area surrounding Gaza. It took approximately ten hours before Israeli forces began restoring operational control, eventually eliminating or pushing back most of the militants into the Gaza Strip.”

It continued: “Third, the Israeli army was caught off guard by the attack itself, the sheer number of militants who stormed the Gaza perimeter, their ability to move quickly, and the extreme brutality meticulously planned by Hamas.”

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The report added: “Fourth, the Israeli army relied on flawed assumptions that collapsed, including the belief that Gaza was a secondary threat requiring less intervention, that Hamas was deterred and interested in peace and civilian benefits, that the conflict with Hamas could be managed and even improved, and that a distinction could be made between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority.”

It also noted: “Fifth, the Israeli army allowed a serious and immediate threat to develop at its borders by relying too heavily on the security barrier. Defensive elements in the border area were insufficient, with a low number of troops.”

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It concluded: “Sixth, the Israeli army was overly confident in its intelligence superiority and control over the situation, believing it would receive an early intelligence warning before any attack.”

New Details

The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported that “around 5,500 Palestinians entered Israeli territory in three successive waves. (…) They breached the border fence at 114 points of infiltration and moved along 59 attack routes towards cities in the south and center.”

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The investigation found that “the first wave consisted of over 1,000 elite Hamas operatives who infiltrated under heavy fire. The second wave included 2,000 militants, while the third saw the entry of hundreds of armed men accompanied by thousands of civilians.”

It added: “Seven boats carrying 50 militants attempted to breach the maritime border towards strategic sites, while Israel was also attacked from the air by six paragliders and 57 drones.”

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Israeli intelligence reportedly failed to detect clear warning signs over two years, including hidden messages in a Hamas-produced TV series.

The investigation revealed major intelligence failures, including a lack of sources within Hamas and a misinterpretation of the group’s intentions over the years.

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