IDF chief Halevi agrees to conclude probe into Oct 7 attacks by end of January

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Wednesday directed investigators in the military probe into the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, to "accelerate their timelines" so they can present their findings to Defense Minister Israel Katz by the end of January 2025. 

Last Thursday, Katz ordered the Israeli military to give him “all the investigations that have already been completed.” He said, “It is the duty of the IDF to finish the investigations as soon as possible to present them to the families and the public in Israel, and to draw lessons and the necessary conclusions.

The instruction also came with a deadline and an incentive, the findings needed to be presented by the end of January 2025, or else Katz would not approve the appointment of new generals. 

While Halevi had previously criticized Katz’s decision to freeze the appointment of two senior IDF officers over their possible connection to failures in the IDF’s Oct. 7 response, he has also expressed a willingness to accept responsibility for the probe’s findings. 

In a letter to IDF commanders earlier this year, Halevi wrote, "The investigation of the events of October 7 is an inseparable part of the process [of improving the IDF].”

“It was done with great seriousness and pain, first and foremost in order to improve and learn. At the end of the investigations, we will also make personal decisions and exercise the responsibility for the commanders – from me downwards.” 

Coalition members, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, have criticized IDF promotions in the past year, despite several commanders having retired or voluntarily stepped down. Smotrich said that Israel needs “to rebuild the IDF's senior command and appoint only offensive commanders who were not part of the concept of containment and restraint.” 

However, Wednesday’s announcement by Halevi indicates that the IDF chief views the accelerated timeline as a necessary burden to fill vacancies in the military’s command structure. 

The IDF’s probe will focus on four main areas: 

1. How the IDF developed its institutional understanding of the situation in Gaza, starting in 2018 with a focus on the Gaza Envelope border.

2. The military intelligence assessments of Hamas’ capabilities and training from 2018 until Oct. 7.

3. The intelligence input and decision-making processes in the days leading up to Oct. 7. 

4. The command-and-control structure, battle plans, and orders given during the IDF’s reaction to the Hamas invasion on Oct. 7 and continuing until troops restored control over the communities and military posts in the Envelop on Oct. 10. 

The Israel Air Force (IAF) has already completed its probe into its response to the events of Oct. 7. IAF Chief Maj.-Gen. Tomer Bar said the organization would publish the results officially once the IDF has completed its probe. 

Former IDF Chief of Staff and opposition Knesset Member Benny Gantz criticized Katz’s decision to freeze promotions until the probe is complete, as well as the government’s refusal to appoint an independent state commission of inquiry into the government’s response to the Oct. 7 invasion. 

“The Defense Minister is right that IDF investigations should be completed, and that the appointments of generals should be done in a focused and restrained manner until that happens,” Gantz said. “However, such a decision cannot be made by a government that promotes laws of exemption and makes life-and-death decisions, without establishing a state commission of inquiry.” 

“A government that understands it is its responsibility to ensure that a disaster like the one on October 7th does not happen again must ensure that all the circumstances leading up to that event, even beyond the military field, are thoroughly investigated,” Gantz continued.

“Minister Katz, both of us studied under the late Rabbi Druckman – ‘One who demands, must also act accordingly.’”