IDF chief ignoring report into implementation of reforms stemming from Oct. 7 probes

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has indefinitely postponed consideration of a report he commissioned examining the implementation of findings from the IDF’s internal probes into the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack, the military said Wednesday.

Zamir received the report earlier this week, but the military cited ongoing operations in Gaza to explain why he would ignore it for now. The IDF is preparing to embark on a major offensive to conquer Gaza City, which is expected to take months.

“In light of the operational circumstances, the command’s focus and the need to concentrate on the campaign that the IDF is in the middle of, dealing fully with the report will be postponed to a later date,” the IDF said in a statement. “At the moment when conditions make it possible, the report will be presented to the General Staff Forum and the process of drawing and implementing its lessons will continue.”

The report was prepared by a panel of former senior officers and tasked with evaluating the IDF’s investigations, overseeing implementation of findings and recommending re-investigations if necessary.

The commission, appointed by Zamir in March, is led by Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman, a former head of the IDF Southern Command, and includes ex-Navy chief Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit, ex-IAF chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Amikam Norkin and other retired senior officers.

The IDF statement said the staff “completed its work in full” and on schedule.

Zamir created the commission after an IDF investigation found that on October 7, the military struggled to mount a response, with bases closest to the border overrun and the chain of command broken amid the chaos.

That investigation detailed intelligence material that was consistently misinterpreted over the years; cited the military’s overreliance on having an early warning to prepare its defenses; noted the degree to which troops were massively outnumbered by the invading terrorists; and described the IDF’s failure to understand what Hamas was doing during the attack.

At the time of the panel’s appointment, the IDF said it reflected “the IDF’s deep commitment to processes of learning, streamlining and improvement, especially during the war, and for an analysis and examination of the operational, professional and organizational insights.”

The announcement comes as the military is feuding with the State Comptroller’s Office over that body’s investigations into the October 7 massacre. The military has petitioned the High Court to halt that probe, arguing that it is improper while the IDF is in the midst of fighting a war. The comptroller has shot back that the IDF is delaying the investigation.

The comptroller reportedly sent drafts of its provisional findings to a number of former senior officials recently.

Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.