Former IDF Chief Investigator Reveals Intelligence Failures Before Hamas October Attack
Retired Major General Roni Numa, appointed by IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi to lead the inquiry into the "Jericho Wall" document, spoke publicly for the first time about the findings of the investigation into the intelligence failures preceding Hamas's October 7 attack. Numa's team is examining why Israeli intelligence failed to grasp Hamas's attack plans, despite having detailed information for years. He emphasized that the investigation focuses not only on what happened but why it happened and what lessons can be learned for the future.
Numa criticized overreliance on technology at the expense of human expertise, noting that on October 7, some units trusted a speech-to-text device instead of Arabic-speaking analysts who understand the language and culture. He stressed the need to understand the environment Israel operates in to safeguard future generations and called for a return to the initiative and creativity reminiscent of the Palmach spirit.
Preliminary findings suggest the failure was conceptual and systemic, spanning three IDF chiefs of staff and senior intelligence officials. Despite accumulating intelligence on Hamas's plans since 2016, including a detailed 2022 version of the "Jericho Wall" attack plan, the information was misinterpreted and not translated into operational readiness. The document was treated as new in 2022, without awareness of its earlier versions, and no significant operational measures were taken despite detailed threat analyses.
The "Jericho Wall" issue was also discussed by the Turjeman Committee, which recommended a dedicated investigation, but this was not approved by the Chief of Staff's office at the time. Experts suggest a comprehensive probe could broaden accountability beyond the defense establishment. The main conclusion is that Israel possessed a detailed updated plan of Hamas's attack in 2022 but failed to act due to the entrenched belief that Hamas was deterred, leaving the country unprepared for the October 7 assault.
