Israeli military: ‘We never imagined an attack like October 7, Hamas caught us off guard’

In a rare public reckoning, an internal Israeli military probe has acknowledged its “complete failure” in preventing the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israelis. The report, released Thursday, marks a sobering admission of lapses that allowed over 5,000 militants to breach Israeli defenses.

“The IDF failed in fulfilling its mission to protect Israeli civilians,” an Israeli military official said while briefing reporters under anonymity. The report outlines how Hamas fighters overran the Gaza Division in a multi-wave assault, taking control of roads and communities in southern Israel.

The military probe, comprising 77 separate investigations, revealed that Israel's forces were caught unprepared, underestimating both Hamas’s military capabilities and the scale of the attack. "We did not even imagine such a scenario," the official stated.

According to the findings, the first wave saw over 1,000 Hamas elite Nukhba fighters infiltrate under heavy fire. The second and third waves involved thousands more militants and civilians breaching the border, overwhelming Israeli defenses.

The IDF’s admission is part of an effort to present its findings to affected communities, as Israel continues its military campaign in Gaza in response to the attack.