Shin Bet chief says agency ‘will leave no stone unturned’ in its probe of October 7 failures

Speaking at a state ceremony marking one year since the October 7 Hamas attack, Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar says the agency is still in the midst of an in-depth investigation into how it failed so badly to protect the citizens of Israel.

“We are in the middle of a deep, penetrating investigation that will leave no stone unturned,” Bar says at the Mount Herzl ceremony. “We are learning already now, amidst the probe, changing and fixing. We are learning the reasons for the failure and dealing with its deepest layers to allow us to minimize the chances for such failures in the future.”

Bar says that a year ago Israel failed “in its most basic responsibility — protecting its citizens… we failed to provide sufficient warning.” But the attack “did not harm our determination to protect the country, its citizens and its values — on the contrary, it only increased it.”

The Shin Bet chief says that the agency is, on a daily basis, “bringing to justice all those who carried out that horrible massacre, one by one, until we reach everyone.” The Shin Bet, Bar says, pledges that ” the lights will stay on until the very last hostage returns home.”