Key facts
- Hamas-led attackers killed 64 people and kidnapped 19 from Kfar Aza on Oct. 7, 2023.
- About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage in attacks across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
- No independent state inquiry has been established into the Oct. 7 security failures.
- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denies reports of warnings about Hamas plans prior to the attack.
- Netanyahu blamed security chiefs for the failures, stating they chose not to wake him.
- The IDF's then-chief of staff apologized for the failure to defend civilians and resigned.
Three years after the deadliest attacks in Israel's history, families of victims and campaigners are demanding accountability for the security failures that allowed Hamas-led militants to kill about 1,200 people and take 251 hostages on October 7, 2023. Despite ongoing calls for an independent state inquiry, none has been established.
Residents of Kfar Aza, one of the communities most heavily impacted, held a memorial ceremony. On that day, Hamas attackers killed half of the kibbutz's 14-member civil defense squad, and 64 people in total from the community, with 19 taken hostage.
Questions are mounting in Israel regarding the intelligence failures leading up to the attacks, the information passed to political and military leaders, and what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew. Reports have emerged of warnings from young female soldiers stationed on the Gaza border about Hamas preparations, and alleged warnings from regional neighbors, which Netanyahu's office has denied.
Netanyahu has largely blamed his security chiefs, suggesting they deliberately chose not to wake him to avoid a potentially escalatory response. However, critics argue that his policy of containing Hamas in Gaza for years contributed to the conditions that led to the attack.
Following the attacks, the IDF's then-chief of staff, Lt Gen Herzi Halevi, publicly apologized for the failure to defend civilians and resigned. Several other military commanders and the domestic intelligence chief also left their positions. Netanyahu, however, has rejected personal responsibility.
Campaigners are now petitioning Israel's highest court to compel the government to establish a state commission of inquiry, with one former minister and opposition politician stating that the country is heading into elections "almost blindfolded" regarding the events of October 7.