Israeli military removes senior commanders and disciplines top officers after damning findings on intelligence lapses preceding Hamas’s October 2023 assault.
Israel’s military has dismissed three generals and sanctioned several senior officers for what investigators describe as deep institutional failures that allowed Hamas’s October 2023 attack to unfold largely undetected. The decision, announced on Sunday, comes amid intensifying demands for accountability from bereaved families and the broader Israeli public.
October 7, 2023 assault, the deadliest in Israel’s history, exposed wide-ranging vulnerabilities across the country’s security and intelligence apparatus. Despite months of debate, the Israeli government has yet to establish a formal state commission of inquiry, leaving the military to conduct its own internal review.
Those removed from their posts include three divisional commanders, among them the officer who served as the military intelligence chief during the attack. All three had previously tendered their resignations, but the latest move formally attributes responsibility for key lapses that preceded the assault launched from the Gaza Strip.
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In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the dismissed commanders bore “personal responsibility” for failures to detect, interpret and act upon mounting signs of Hamas activity in the lead-up to the attack. The military also imposed disciplinary measures on the heads of the navy and air force, as well as four additional generals and multiple senior officers.
The action follows recommendations from a panel of experts appointed by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, who two weeks earlier called for a “systemic investigation” to understand how early warnings were missed. The committee’s report, released earlier this month, concluded that the failures were “long-standing, systemic and organizational.”
Investigators found that the military had access to “exceptional, high-quality information” that should have triggered elevated alerts. Instead, the intelligence was misread or dismissed, contributing to what the panel described as a critical breakdown in situational awareness.
The report also highlighted flawed decision-making and inadequate deployment of forces in the hours surrounding the attack. According to the findings, crucial units were either understaffed or misallocated, slowing Israel’s ability to respond as Hamas fighters breached border communities.
Families of victims and survivors continue to call for a national inquiry with subpoena powers, arguing that only a civilian-led investigation can fully address the institutional and political failures that culminated in the October 7 tragedy.
The military says the disciplinary measures mark a first step toward restoring public trust, though broader political scrutiny remains likely as Israel confronts the long-term implications of the attack.
