State comptroller looking to question Netanyahu, ex-defense chiefs on October 7 failures

State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman and his team are seeking meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former defense minister Yoav Gallant, former IDF chiefs of staff Herzi Halevi and Aviv Kohavi, and senior Shin Bet officials as a wide-ranging probe into the failures surrounding Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught expands to include key decision-makers.

The meetings are slated to focus on key political and security failures, including the conduct of the security cabinet, intelligence processes, and border defense in Gaza, marking a shift from investigations that have thus far steered clear of political leaders.

“Everyone is obligated to cooperate with the probe. Attacks by parties seeking to evade scrutiny will not deter us from conducting the State Comptroller’s work in the most professional manner,” Englman says in a statement from his office announcing his intent to interview Netanyahu and others.

Officials have been sent detailed questions classified as “Top Secret,” and meetings are being coordinated to review the findings and ensure accountability across all levels of government, military, and security services, the statement says.

The comptroller’s probe is currently the only state-sanctioned comprehensive investigation into the October 7 attacks, during which approximately 1,200 people were massacred by Hamas and other Palestinian terror groups in southern Israel, and 251 people were taken hostage. Political leaders have insisted that no investigation can look at government decision-making until the war in Gaza concludes, ignoring loud calls for them to submit to a state commission of inquiry.

Englman’s investigation, which began in January 2024, was suspended for 15 months in the IDF and Shin Bet due to the ongoing war and opposition from senior officials. With the appointment of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir in March 2025, a framework for the probe was established and endorsed by the High Court in April, allowing it to proceed.

Englman’s probe largely lacks the teeth of a state commission, but he stresses that leaders must still cooperate with his inquest. “Full availability, submission of all relevant documents, and a professional engagement with the probe findings are required. Our sole obligation is to the citizens of Israel, who deserve answers on the core failure that led to the massacre.”

Critics, including opposition members and government watchdog groups, have raised concerns that Englman, who has no legal background and was appointed under a Netanyahu-led government, may minimize political responsibility for the brutal attack.