Bereaved Israeli Parents Reject Gadi Eizenkot’s Plan for State Inquiry into October Tragedy

Bereaved families of the October 7 terror attack victims strongly oppose former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot’s announcement to establish a state commission of inquiry upon his potential rise to prime minister. The opposition comes from a forum of bereaved parents called "Din VeTzedek" (Law and Justice), which has been advocating for over two years for a balanced investigative committee agreed upon by both coalition and opposition members of the Knesset.

Galya Hoshen, mother of Hadar Goldin, spoke to Channel 7 explaining that the forum views a state commission as politically motivated and lacking impartiality. She criticized the involvement of Supreme Court President Isaac Amit, whom the forum distrusts due to perceived judicial bias and alleged leniency toward organizations representing terrorists. Hoshen emphasized that the term "state commission" does not appear in the law and that such a committee would be closed to the public, unlike the transparent, bipartisan inquiry they seek, modeled after the U.S. 9/11 commission.

The forum demands a special committee composed of trusted academics and former public officials, with public hearings and live broadcasts to ensure transparency. They also call for special observer status for bereaved families and hostages’ relatives, and the authority for any two committee members to summon witnesses. Hoshen expressed concern that a state commission might seal evidence for decades, as happened with the Agranat Commission, and stressed the need to publish the names of those responsible and hold them accountable.

Hoshen lamented the lack of support from opposition politicians and some bereaved families aligned with them, accusing them of prioritizing political agendas over truth. She criticized Eizenkot for announcing his plan at the left-leaning settlement of Nir Oz without consulting bereaved families, accusing him of treating them as "second-class." She also condemned right-wing Knesset members for not backing the equitable inquiry bill promoted by MK Ariel Kallner, fearing that Kallner’s low position on the Likud list might jeopardize the bill’s future.

The forum calls on Prime Minister Netanyahu to apply the "continuity law" to ensure the inquiry bill’s passage and stresses the need for a thorough investigation that includes all relevant parties, including the prime minister, to prevent future tragedies and deliver justice for the 1,200 victims.