Israel removed several senior officers over the failures that allowed the October 2023 Hamas attack, a move that marks the most significant round of accountability since the assault.
The military confirmed that three generals were dismissed, including former divisisional commanders and the officer who was serving as military intelligence chief at the time. All three had already stepped down from their roles, including former southern command head Yaron Finkelman. The statement said they carried personal responsibility for the army’s inability to stop the attack launched from Gaza.
Additional disciplinary measures were issued for the heads of the navy and air force, along with actions against four other generals and several senior officers.
The announcement followed military chief Eyal Zamir’s recent call for a broad investigation into the lapses that led to the attack. His push came even as the government continued to resist forming a state commission of inquiry, despite polls showing strong public support for a formal probe.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly said that questions of responsibility should wait until the war in Gaza is over. His administration has so far declined to set up an inquiry, even as pressure builds over the government’s role in the failures.
Hamas’s assault in October 2023 killed 1,221 people and triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. Israel’s operation in the territory has since killed at least 69,756 people, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry that the United Nations considers credible.
Earlier this month, an expert committee appointed by Zamir released its findings and described what it called a long-standing systemic and organisational failure within the military. The report cited an intelligence breakdown, despite what it described as exceptional and high-quality information ahead of the attack, and criticised decision-making and troop deployment on the night of October 7.
Defence Minister Israel Katz said he has asked the ministry’s comptroller, Yair Wolans, to review the report and determine whether further investigations are necessary. The announcement sparked speculation in local media about renewed friction between Katz and Zamir, who have disagreed in the past over how to conduct the war.
Inside Gaza on Monday, the military said its troops shot three militants who crossed the so-called Yellow Line, the area Israeli forces withdrew to under last month’s ceasefire agreement. Two of the individuals were reported near Khan Yunis, where the civil defence agency said two Palestinians were killed by a drone strike.
Nasser Hospital confirmed receiving the bodies, along with three injured people. In Gaza City, another person was killed by tank fire, according to civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal. Shifa Hospital confirmed receiving the body and several wounded.
Hamas accused Israel of shifting the Yellow Line farther into territory under its control, calling it a violation of the ceasefire terms. The group also said a high-level leadership delegation had been in Cairo for two days meeting mediators on the second phase of the US-brokered truce that began on October 10.