Hidden in the IDF’s damning report on its Oct. 7 failures, a stark story of political disarray
Military leaders have taken accountability. When will political leaders do the same?
Protestors chant and call for the ceasefire deal to continue while holding a banner that reads “Never Again: Failed” during an anti-government demonstration in Tel Aviv on Feb. 8. Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Columnist Dan Perry February 28, 2025
Glaringly absent from the Israel Defense Forces’ detailed report on their actions leading up to and on Oct. 7 is any explanation for the most excruciating and unforgivable failure of all: Why did it take hours — in some cases more than 10 — for Israeli forces to reach communities under siege, in a rather small country where there were air force bases just miles away?
The report meticulously documents operational missteps prior to the Hamas attack, which killed close to 1,200 people, with 251 others taken hostage. Among those missteps were intelligence misjudgments, misinterpretations of Hamas’s intentions, and chaotic command and control errors.
But it’s not nearly enough. The IDF report fails to connect the military’s many mistakes to the political context of a divided society and a distracted government. That, in fact, is the real story.
This was the deadliest attack on Jews since the Holocaust, a fact that demands not just military introspection but national accountability.
The IDF report is thorough in its examination of intelligence gaps and strategic miscalculations, admitting to years of false assessments that led to catastrophic unpreparedness. It reveals how Israel’s security apparatus was blindsided by a well-coordinated invasion of more 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists from Gaza. It acknowledges that the Gaza Division was “defeated” for several hours, a stunning admission for an army long reputed to be among the most capable in the world.
But the report, despite its exhaustive detail, stops short of addressing the core issue: The paralysis in command, and the excruciating delay in military response that allowed a massacre to unfold in real-time.
How, in a country as small and militarized as Israel, could it take such an inexcusably long time for forces to reach besieged civilians? How did the chain of command break so completely that communities were left defenseless against one of the most brutal terrorist assaults in modern history?
These questions are haunting an entire nation, but must particularly haunt the governing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which, in a disgraceful display of political self-preservation, recently voted against establishing a government commission of inquiry into the events of Oct. 7.
That refusal is not merely a political maneuver — it is a moral failure of historic proportions. It prioritizes political survival over truth, accountability, and the healing of a grieving nation.
The truth is that the government bears major responsibility for enabling this catastrophe. Months before Oct. 7, security experts, former military leaders and opposition voices warned that Netanyahu’s authoritarian judicial overhaul effort was fracturing Israeli society, including its military. The overhaul, seen by many as an assault on democracy, sparked massive protests and widespread societal division, including a schism within the IDF. Thousands of reservists — some from elite units — warned that they would refuse service if the overhaul proceeded, citing concerns over the erosion of democratic norms.
These warnings were not merely political rhetoric. They signaled a crisis in national unity and security readiness — a crisis that Hamas exploited with brutal efficiency. The IDF report acknowledges that troops were “massively outnumbered” by invading terrorists.
Netanyahu’s refusal to acknowledge the schism his policies created is not just a political miscalculation; it is a dereliction of leadership. By denying any connection between his judicial power grab and the security vacuum that allowed Hamas to strike so effectively, Netanyahu is trying to rewrite history in real-time.
This denial is not just an insult to the intelligence of Israeli citizens. It is a betrayal of those who were left defenseless as any sense of security in Israel’s south was shattered.
It is the norm, in Israel, for government commissions to investigate disasters like Oct. 7 After the Yom Kippur War, the Agranat Commission investigated intelligence failures. After the 2006 Lebanon War, the Winograd Commission scrutinized political and military decisions. Netanyahu’s argument against allowing the same level of scrutiny — that judges are biased against him — is cynical, and dangerous.
Israel cannot afford this abdication of responsibility. The IDF has taken the first step by conducting a rigorous self-assessment and acknowledging its failures. Senior military leaders, including Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, have resigned, taking responsibility for the catastrophic breach. This is, at least in part, what accountability looks like.
But military resignations are not enough. The root cause of this failure lies with the political leadership, which ignored warnings, deepened societal divides, and pursued personal power at the expense of national security. Netanyahu’s government has failed to protect its citizens, failed to unite its people, and failed to take responsibility.
And with it, the government has lost the moral authority to govern. The only responsible path forward is for this government to resign and for the Knesset to dissolve itself, paving the way for new elections.
This is not about partisan politics; it is about the survival of Israel’s democratic and moral integrity. A government that refuses to face the truth — and which seems increasingly inclined to throw Israel’s military and security agencies under the bus — cannot lead a nation scarred by tragedy. Israel needs leaders who will acknowledge mistakes, accept responsibility, and unite the country with a vision of accountability and renewal.
For the sake of the wounded and grieving, and for the future of Israel, the truth must come out. And as it is standing in the way of that endeavor, the government must go. In all my years of covering global affairs, I have never seen any truth so stark.
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