Shock IDF Confession: Report Confirms Massacre Could Have Been Prevented, Citing "Zero Meaningful Action"

The Israeli military has publicly released the findings of its comprehensive external review, dubbed the "Inquiry of Inquiries," which investigated the catastrophic events leading up to the October 7 massacre. The report, conducted by an external team led by Major General (Res.) Sami Turgeman, delivers a devastating conclusion: The massacre could have been prevented, and "not a single meaningful action was taken during the critical hours" leading up to the attack.

The extensive inquiry, commissioned by Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, identified six primary factors contributing to the massive failure, asserting that Israel's enemies identified a moment of internal weakening that damaged Israeli deterrence and increased the likelihood of escalation.

Six Core Failures Led to the Massacre

The Turgeman team’s findings point to a sweeping systemic failure across the IDF, but notably included no personal recommendations for disciplinary action against any senior officers. The six key factors cited in the report are:

The report emphasizes that multiple, unusual indicators were available on the night of the attack, but a lack of a cohesive command structure meant no professional figure compiled a comprehensive intelligence picture or initiated a discussion on raising the alert level.

Agency-Specific Condemnations

The inquiry issued pointed criticism against multiple key military components:

The Heroes Who Prevented Worse

The report acknowledges that the outcome would have been far worse without the extraordinary heroism displayed by certain personnel. The inquiry recognized the Commanders who charged into the combat zone without orders, many paying the ultimate price; the female observation soldiers (Tatzpitaniyot) who continued to report professionally despite personal danger "until their last breath"; and the civilian rapid response teams (Kitot Konenut) whose valor blunted the attack in many communities. The report stressed that if the warnings raised by the observation soldiers had been heeded, the attack might have been spotted.

Chief of Staff Zamir responded to the findings, stressing the crucial need for transparency for public trust. He also underscored the need for a "broad systemic inquiry" extending beyond the military to examine the inter-organizational and inter-level interfaces that were not part of the IDF's internal review.