1,000 families directly impacted by Oct. 7 sign letter demanding state commission of inquiry

Nearly 1,000 families with loved ones who were victims of Hamas’s October 7 onslaught have signed onto a public letter demanding that the government establish a state commission of inquiry into the government’s conduct ahead of the attack.

The open letter will be published in several major newspapers tomorrow and will take up four pages in each of them, due to the large number of signatories.

Signatories include more than 20 survivors of captivity, hundreds of bereaved families, the families of hostages still held in Gaza, survivors of the onslaught and wounded IDF soldiers.

The open letter is spearheaded by the October Council of families directly impacted by the October 7 attack.

“We, the families who were affected by the October 7th massacre… demand that the government establish a state commission of inquiry. We will stand together like a wall against any attempt to establish a political cover-up commission. We will not accept a committee in which the interrogated appoint the investigators.

“Only a state commission of inquiry will have the tools and the mandate to investigate everything and everyone to arrive at the truth, to bring justice to the fallen, the murdered, the wounded and their families, strengthening national security and preventing the next disaster,” the letter states.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in the coalition have resisted the idea of launching a state commission of inquiry, arguing that such a probe should only take place after the war is over, and also saying that they don’t trust the former Supreme Court justices who are tasked with heading such panels. They have instead proposed establishing a lower-level panel headed by individuals appointed by the government.

Netanyahu’s opponents have argued that the premier and those in power are trying to evade responsibility for what unfolded on October 7 in order to remain in power.

הערב דיווחנו – 1,000 משפחות שכולות, משפחות חטופים ושורדי 7.10 חתמו על עצומת מועצת אוקטובר בדרישה להקים ועדה חקירה ממלכתית. עוד שני סבבי החתמה צפויים בקרוב. המטרה – להראות שמאסה קריטית של נפגעי ה-7.10 רוצים ועדת חקירה ממלכתית עכשיו. pic.twitter.com/jdAFKj9Y2O

— דפנה ליאל (@DaphnaLiel) December 31, 2024