THREE ISRAELI GENERALS have been sacked and disciplinary action has been taken against several senior officers over their failure to prevent the Hamas-led attack on the country in October 2023. 

The move, announced by the Israeli military more than two years since the attack, came two weeks after army chief Eyal Zamir called for a “systemic investigation” into the failures that led to the 7 October 2023, even as the government dragged its feet on establishing a state commission of inquiry despite public pressure.

The list of generals fired included three divisional commanders, one of whom was then serving as the military intelligence chief.

A military statement released yesterday said they bore personal responsibility for the armed forces’ failure to prevent the attack launched by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

The firing comes after all three had already resigned from their posts, including the former head of the southern command, General Yaron Finkelman.

Disciplinary actions were also announced against the head of the navy and air force, along with moves against four other generals and several senior officers.

It remains to be seen how or if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might also be pinned with blame for having a role in the inability to prevent the Hamas-led attack, the deadliest in Israel’s history.

For the past two years, Netanyahu has repeatedly said that the failures that led to the attack should be addressed after the war in Gaza had ended.

According to polls, a large number of Israelis across the political spectrum support the establishment of an inquiry to determine who is responsible for the authorities’ failure to prevent the attack.

Netanyahu’s government has so far refused to form such a commission. Many political observers in Israel and beyond have speculated that Netanyahu’s survival as prime minister could has motivated his inaction.

The Hamas-led attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people, mostly civilians, and sparked a devastating two-year war on the Gaza Strip in Palestine, which has so far killed at least 69,756 people.

Earlier this month, a report by a committee of experts appointed by the military chief Zamir was published, marking the conclusion of the army’s internal investigations.

The report concluded that there had been a “long-standing systemic and organisational failure” within the military apparatus before 7 October 2023 and on the night of the attack itself.

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said today that he had tasked the defence establishment’s comptroller Yair Wolansky with examining the report to determine if further investigations were needed.

Following the announcement, the military issued a statement on behalf of Zamir saying that “the decision to cast doubt on the report… is puzzling.”

“The IDF (Israeli military) is the only body in the country that has thoroughly investigated its own failures and taken responsibility for them. If any further examination is required to complete the picture, it must take the form of an external, objective and independent commission,” the statement added.

Israeli media noted that the comments marked the latest moment of friction between Zamir and Katz, who have aired disagreements in the past over how to prosecute the war against Hamas.

While a ceasefire agreement between Israel and armed groups in Gaza remains nominally in place, Israel has continued to bomb parts of the besieged territory, claiming the strikes are reactions to what it says are violations of the truce. 

Last Saturday, Israeli strikes killed 24 people in Gaza and wounded another 54. 

The Wednesday before that, Israeli strikes killed another 27 people.

The Israeli military said it launched the strikes after militants opened fire towards an area where its troops were operating in the south of Gaza, in “violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

Hamas denied the accusation and denounced the attacks as a “dangerous escalation” that could jeopardise the agreement. 

Israel has also been violating its agreement with Hamas by not allowing aid to flow into Gaza at the required level. 

Today, the highly controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a US and Israeli-backed company, said it was ending its operations in the Gaza Strip. 

With reporting from AFP

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