Israel’s Gantz proposes inquiry commission into Oct. 7 events, Gaza war

JERUSALEM 

Israeli War Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz submitted a proposal on Sunday to form a state commission of inquiry into the events surrounding the Oct. 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war on the Gaza Strip.

“As part of the commission of inquiry that Gantz proposed to establish, all the events leading up to the war, the decision-making at the political and military level, as well as the conduct during the war itself, will be investigated,” Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said.

Gantz recommended looking into the success or failure of operations conducted in Gaza since Oct. 7 and the response to threats on Israel’s border with Lebanon and Syria.

The move came three days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contradicted the army about receiving warnings about a possible Hamas attack.

The military said that Netanyahu had received four warnings in the months leading up to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. It said that the warning letters were sent to the prime minister in the months between March and July 2023, and that as early as last July

Last week, Gantz issued a deadline for Netanyahu until 8 to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the Gaza war and its aftermath or he will withdraw from the government.

Netanyahu faces widespread criticisms for failing to anticipate the Hamas attack and his handling of the issue of Israeli hostages held by the Palestinian group.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 80,600 others injured since October following an attack by Hamas.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of “genocide” at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where more than a million displaced Palestinians had sought refuge.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi

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