IDF chief appoints external panel to evaluate army’s Oct. 7 probes, implement findings

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir has appointed an external panel of former senior officers to evaluate the military’s October 7 probes and implement its conclusions.

The move is made by Zamir out of “the IDF’s deep commitment to learning, streamlining and improving processes, especially during the war, and for an analysis and examination of the operational, professional and organizational insights,” the military says.

The panel will be headed by Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman, a former head of the Southern Command. The other members include former Navy chief Vice Adm. (res.) Eli Sharvit; former IAF chief Maj. Gen. (res.) Amikam Norkin; Maj. Gen. (res.) Yossi Baidatz; Brig. Gen. (res.) Yuval Bazak; Brig. Gen. (res.) Ofer Levi; Brig. Gen. (res.) Meir Finkel; Brig. Gen. (res.) Yom-Tov Tamir; Col. (res.) Avi Eliyahu; Col. (res.) Talya Lankri; Col. (res.) Benny Da-Levi; Col. (res.) Gila Goldrat; and Lt. Col. (res.) Livnat Bar David.

The IDF says the team was chosen based on their “rich experience and in-depth acquaintance with different and varied areas of work in the military, and out of a desire to reach diverse perspectives.”

The team will “formulate the mechanisms and processes required to implement lessons learned from the investigations.” It will also add to or reexamine parts of the investigations “as required” and will recommend re-investigating, if necessary.

The IDF says the team will present its initial conclusions to Zamir in the coming weeks, and subsequently provide a plan to implement its recommendations.