Hamas caught Israeli army off guard on Oct. 7: Report

By Anadolu staff

JERUSALEM (AA) - An Israeli newspaper has published a report claiming the Israeli military was caught off guard when Hamas launched an attack on Oct. 7, resulting in utter confusion among their ranks.

In the report published Thursday, Yedioth Ahronoth said that following the attack, the Israeli army issued orders to prevent Palestinian infiltrators from returning to Gaza “at any cost,” even if it meant risking the lives of Israeli hostages.

Hamas attacked and killed hundreds of Israelis and captured dozens of hostages on Oct. 7. In response, Israel launched a fierce war on the Gaza Strip.

After the attack, the Israeli army issued “confused orders, pilots without clear guidance to attack militants, and orders to shoot at all vehicles returning to Gaza despite the fear they might contain hostages.”

“A quasi-failed leadership system that became completely blind due to a lack of communication forced soldiers to coordinate assistance from the air using cell phones,” the report said.

It added, “old, unmodified instructions were used verbatim and sent to the field.”

The report continued, "officers concluded that there was no option, and they had to get helicopters for their forces. Drone operators were forced to enter WhatsApp groups in the kibbutzim to obtain targets from besieged civilians, and this is just a partial list.”

According to the report, the investigation revealed that on the midnight of Oct. 7, the Israeli army effectively ordered all its combat units to consider implementing the Hannibal Procedure, although this name was not explicitly mentioned.

The report stated, “the order was to stop any attempt by Hamas terrorists to return to Gaza at any cost, despite the fear that there might be hostages among them.”

It added, "estimates indicate the killing of about a thousand terrorists and infiltrators in the area between the towns near the Gaza envelope and the Gaza Strip. The number of hostages killed due to the activation of this order has not been clarified yet.”

According to the same report, "in the week following the attack, elite units soldiers examined about 70 vehicles left in the area between the towns near the Gaza envelope and the Gaza Strip.”

“These vehicles did not reach Gaza because they were hit by the gunfire of a combat helicopter, an anti-tank missile, or a tank, and in some cases, everyone in the car was killed,” the report further said.

It questioned, "Where was the air force in the first minutes of the attack?"

The newspaper continued, “The investigation reveals that a few minutes after the start of the attack, two F-16 (Storm) and two F-35 (Adir) aircraft were launched. However, due to the confusion and the fog of battle, there was no one to guide them to what was happening on the ground and direct them to the targets.”

It added, “So, the F-16 aircraft, for example, followed a predetermined course and flew to protect strategic targets, even though they were not in danger at that time.”

The report pointed out that “the pilots had no idea at all that thousands of elite terrorists (Hamas fighters) were invading the country at that moment.”

It said, “for 45 critical minutes, they flew with their hands tied in the sky, and when they landed and updated their information, around 8 a.m., their frustration and anger were enormous.”

The newspaper quoted a senior officer in the squadron saying, “they could at least fly at a low altitude, frightening Hamas terrorists by flying loudly over their heads, but they didn't know what was happening.”

It also reported the army's response to the information in the report, stating: "The Israeli army will conduct a detailed and in-depth investigation into this matter to clarify the details fully when the operational situation allows, and its results will be published to the public.”

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala