IDF chief to appoint panel to probe military’s handling of intel reports outlining Hamas plans for Oct. 7

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir intends to appoint a panel of experts that will investigate the military’s handling of intelligence reports received since 2018, which outlined Hamas’s intent to launch a wide-scale attack against Israel — a topic not included in the army’s initial October 7 probes.

The decision comes after a team of former senior officers, led by Maj. Gen. (res.) Sami Turgeman conducted a review of the IDF’s internal probes into the failures on October 7.

The team found many of the probes to be inadequate, and also pointed to several topics that were not investigated at all, chief among them was the intelligence reports of Hamas’s attack plan, codenamed in the army “Jericho’s Walls.”

The military had, over the years, dismissed Hamas’s plans as unrealistic and unfeasible, all while the terror group continued its preparations for October 7.

Zamir has not yet announced which officers are set to be part of the team that will dig deeper into the issue.

Turgeman’s report also recommended that the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) — a Defense Ministry body that is headed by a military general and responsible for liaison with the Palestinians — also conduct a formal investigation, which it has not until now.

Other topics that had not been investigated included the IDF’s cooperation with the police and Shin Bet, the readiness of the Ground Forces, and the military’s preparedness for a multifront surprise war before October 7.

All of those topics are eventually expected to be investigated by the army, although no formal announcement has been made yet.