Israeli war cabinet cracks at the seams over possible 7 October probe

[yankeedoodle]

Israeli war cabinet cracks at the seams over possible 7 October probe
An investigation of the Israeli army's actions during Hamas' Al-Aqsa Flood operation may shine further light on Israel's killing of its own soldiers and civilianshttps://new.thecradle.co/articles/israeli-war-cabinet-cracks-at-the-seams-over-possible-7-october-probe

War cabinet minister Benny Gantz says he supports the Israeli Army Chief of Staff's call for an investigation into the security and intelligence failures of 7 October, the Times of Israel reported on 6 January.

During a cabinet meeting on 5 January, several extremist ministers, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, ganged up against Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi for his intention to launch a probe into the army's shortcomings on 7 October, when Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on military bases and settlements in southern Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly ended the meeting after shouting erupted as some ministers came to Halevi's defense.

Gantz acknowledged it was appropriate for government ministers to challenge the information provided to them by security chiefs at cabinet meetings but added: "What happened yesterday was a politically motivated attack in the middle of a war."

"I have participated in many cabinet meetings. Such conduct has never occurred and must not occur," he said.

Gantz then defended Halevi's decision to appoint a panel to probe the military's failures on 7 October.

Netanyahu has insisted that such a probe can only occur after the war.

The Chief of Staff explained his reason for opening a probe to Ynet: "Something happened here that the army should learn from. Tomorrow, if an incident happens in another sector, we want to understand what caused the failure in the chain of command. This is an operational investigation that has implications for the fighting in the north."

Opening an investigation into the events of 7 October is controversial for Israeli leaders as it could affect the political fortunes of many should they be found responsible for an event that Israelis view as the greatest national tragedy since the Holocaust.

Numerous reports have also emerged in Israeli media suggesting that the army killed many of their soldiers and civilians on 7 October to stop the Hamas attack. Roughly 1,200 Israeli soldiers and civilians died during the fighting; Israeli authorities typically claim Hamas murdered them all.

Israel deployed tanks, attack helicopters, and armed drones to attack the Israeli settlements infiltrated by Hamas. Troops bombed homes with Hamas fighters and their Israeli captives inside and attacked Hamas fighters near the border as they were taking Israelis captive back to Gaza. As a result, many Israelis were killed in their homes by Israeli tanks and helicopter fire, while others were gunned down near the Gaza border.

Any investigation into the army's conduct on 7 October would provide additional details of how, when, and how many Israelis were killed by friendly fire.