An inquiry by the Israeli Defense Forces into the October 7 Hamas attack identified several failures by the military. Many of the results of the investigation have previously been reported. 

The probe found the Israeli military only had one drone flying over Gaza on October 7 and no fighter aircraft ready to respond to Hamas in southern Israel. The lack of military hardware in the region prevented the IDF from more quickly expelling the Hamas invaders. 

The lack of aircraft prepared to engage with Hamas was a result of an incorrect Israeli assessment that the Palestinian resistance group was unwilling to engage the IDF in a large-scale war. This is not the first Israeli inquiry to conclude that Tel Aviv downplayed the threat posed by Hamas before October 7. 

The IDF continued to struggle to repel the Hamas assault even after it began. Once planes were able to get in the air, the IDF ordered some to guard critical infrastructure in Israel or monitor the northern border in case of an Hezbollah attack. 

Additionally, some pilots were hesitant to open fire because Israelis could be killed along with members of Hamas. Hence, during the attack on southern Israel, the IDF ordered the Hannibal Directive. The directive orders Israeli forces to fire on Israeli captives to prevent them from becoming hostages of the enemy, and thus used as bargaining chips. 

Hamas rockets fired during the early hours of the attack overwhelmed Tel Aviv’s missile defense system and some air bases were hit, leading to further delays in the IDF responding to the Hamas attack.  

The inquiry focused solely on the actions of the IDF. The Times of Israel notes Israeli political decisions were not examined to avoid “a fight with government leaders.” Prime Minister Benjamin Nentayahu has insisted that investigations must wait until after the fighting in Gaza is over.