TV report: IDF probe finds intel before October 7 should have been sufficient to prevent Hamas invasion

An investigation by the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate into the events surrounding Hamas’s October 7 invasion and slaughter in southern Israel, presented to Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi last night, has found that there were more than enough indications of the imminent Hamas attack to have set off warning lights and enabled the prevention of the catastrophe, Channel 12 reports.

The results of the probe, described in the report as the “initial findings,” were presented to Halevi at a high-level meeting in his office, at which participants were required to sign a document pledging not to leak and agreeing to undergo polygraph tests if necessary in the future.

The TV report quotes “sources familiar” with the Intelligence Directorate probe saying there were signs ahead of the attack that should have “lit up all the red lights” and that “we’ve mobilized various fronts in the past on less than this.”

People who have seen the material in the investigation have expressed “deep frustration,” the TV report says, because it should have been “possible to connect all the dots and prevent this.”

Last night’s meeting was also presented with material covering the IDF Gaza Division’s assessments from 2018 until October 7, and specific material concerning the events of October 6 and 7, the report says.

The presentation covered “what each of the [various IDF] elements knew, what information they shared with each other, and what steps were taken in light of what they understood.” The TV report says there were no arguments over the facts, but “to some extent over interpretations.”

The TV report says Halevi may now seek a fuller investigation by incoming IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, because of “tensions” between the chief of staff and outgoing intel chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, who announced his resignation in April. But it quotes other sources saying the probe is “very thorough.”