An internal Israeli army probe into Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack acknowledged the military’s “complete failure” to prevent the assault, which killed hundreds of Israelis, a military official has said, AFP reports.

“October 7 was a complete failure, the IDF (Israeli military) failed in fulfilling its mission to protect Israeli civilians,” the official said, briefing reporters about the report’s contents, on condition of anonymity.

“Too many civilians died that day asking themselves in their hearts or out loud, where was the IDF?” “The Israel Defence Forces failed to protect Israeli citizens. The Gaza Division was overrun in the early hours of the war, as terrorists took control and carried out massacres in the communities and roads in the area,” the military said in the summary of the report released to journalists.