Nearly 10 months of war in Gaza have further delayed the examination of the responsibility of Israel's security and political leaders for the collapse of the country's defense in the face of the Hamas attack on October 7. The issue, crucial to the country's future, has become increasingly politicized over the months, becoming a bone of contention. That's why, on Friday, July 12, the announcement of the results of the army's first internal investigation into just one of the Israeli settlements invaded that day, the Beeri kibbutz, came as a shock.

What happened in Beeri that day was unparalleled. One hundred and one people – residents and visitors – were killed, and 30 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. In all, the attack on October 7 resulted in almost 1,200 Israeli victims dead and 250 people captured. The investigators established a long series of failures, ranging from the unpreparedness of the armed forces stationed around Gaza to their late and chaotic response to the Hamas assault. They also absolved a high-ranking officer, General Barak Hiram – who authorized a tank to fire on a house where Hamas members were holding 14 hostages – of any responsibility for the deaths caused by the firing and the attack that followed.

The investigators praised the officer, who led the fighting at Beeri, and judged his decision to be "professional and responsible." In an interview with the New York Times in December 2023, General Hiram stated that he had ordered his forces "to enter [the house], even at the cost of civilian casualties." He estimated that light shell fire from the tank would pierce an outer wall, but "not necessarily kill everyone in the building."

According to the army, this bombardment probably killed at least one captive and wounded a second. Then, hearing gunfire inside and fearing for the hostages' lives, officers launched an assault. Only two hostages survived. According to the investigation, however, most of those who died during the attack were murdered by their captors.

The incident raised a painful debate in Israel about the army's efforts to protect civilians. On July 7, the left-wing daily Haaretz claimed that a series of orders issued that day, including by the General Staff, and applying to several combat zones around Gaza, were in response to the "Hannibal directive" – a procedure by which the army takes the risk of killing its own soldiers to prevent them from being captured by the enemy, but endangering civilians. The newspaper found no evidence of Israeli deaths caused by these orders.

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