Bereaved and hostage families urging Oct. 7 state inquiry demand PM meet them, or struggle will be escalated

The October Council, a group that says it represents some 1,500 October 7 survivors, former hostages, and victims’ families, sends what it describes as an “urgent” message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding for the third “and last” time that he meet its representatives regarding its demand for the immediate formation of a state commission of inquiry into the 2023 Hamas onslaught.

In the public letter, the group says the government’s continued campaigning against such a commission “constitutes obstruction of justice and might prevent the truth from coming out in the future as well,” cautioning that this “severely harms Israel’s security.”

“Without learning the necessary lessons, the next disaster is at our doorstep,” it continues.

The group laments that the premier has been meeting other groups representing bereaved families and relatives of hostages, “but not us.”

If Netanyahu does not respond by Tuesday, the October Council says it will hold a press conference announcing the escalation of its struggle for a state inquiry, without elaborating.

Netanyahu has steadfastly refused to establish a state commission of inquiry, claiming that the public would dismiss such a commission’s findings as politicized, despite polls consistently showing majority support for one. The premier has said that the government will establish a non-partisan inquiry that will be trusted across the political spectrum, but there has been no explanation on the specifics of this, 19 months after the unprecedented failure.