It is the greatest tragedy Israel has ever known. On 7 October 2023, a surprise attack by Hamas left 1,200 people dead and 250 Israelis taken hostage. Since then, Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip has claimed the lives of over 50,000 Palestinians. The Middle East is once again plunged into chaos and peace is further away than ever. Yet this disaster could have been avoided.
Israel’s top military and intelligence officials have acknowledged their failure and analysed its causes, with several resigning. Blindness, overconfidence, underestimation of the enemy, and a sense of technological and military superiority: the conclusions of the army’s investigations are clear.
Hamas’ plans were known and its men trained for months in front of Israeli soldiers and observers without the alert being taken seriously. In the hours leading up to the attack, numerous worrying signs were recorded but ignored. Even the defence of the border with Gaza and the army’s response suffered from tragic shortcomings. Who made the wrong decisions and why? We investigate, point by point with witnesses directly involved, the story of what the Israeli army calls its “total failure”.
We also investigate the responsibilities of the Israeli political leadership. The director of the internal intelligence service, Shin Bet, accuses ”the political echelons’ of ‘deliberate and prolonged disregard for warnings,” but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still refuses to set up a state commission of inquiry.