The IDF filed an “urgent update” to its High Court petition against the State Comptroller’s Office on Monday, demanding it halt an investigation into the “core issues” surrounding the army’s failure to prevent the Hamas terror group’s invasion and attack on October 7, 2023, and other events in the ensuing war.

The Military Advocate General’s Military Defense unit wrote in the filing to the court that it is concerned by the “accelerated activity of the state comptroller regarding the events of October 7.”

“These are precisely the issues at the heart of the petition submitted by the Military Defense, issues which… are reserved solely for a commission of inquiry,” it said.

Despite its petition calling for a halt to the State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman’s probe and requesting an interim injunction, “the comptroller accelerated his activity, approached the most senior officials in the state and the defense establishment, sent questionnaires ahead of meetings for the delivery of their testimony, and even began drafting report drafts,” the Military Defense wrote.

Last week, Englman announced that he and his team were seeking meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior political and defense officials, amid his wide-ranging probe into the Israeli failures surrounding October 7. The meetings were slated to focus on key political and security failures, the State Comptroller’s Office said, including the conduct of the security cabinet, intelligence processes, and border defense in Gaza.

A few days later, Englman sent a letter to IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir complaining that the army wasn’t cooperating with his investigation, saying he was having difficulty obtaining the documents he needed and getting senior officials to agree to meetings with him.

Responding to the IDF’s filing on Monday, Englman strongly criticized the Military Advocate General’s office and said he would nevertheless continue to advance his audit.

The State Comptroller’s office called the military’s update “half-truths,” and said that Englman had stated from the beginning of his probe into the October 7 disaster that he would investigate the core issues which led to the failure to prevent the Hamas assault and atrocities.

The State Comptroller’s Office also insisted that Englman has always stated he would be examining all relevant parties, be they political, military or civilian. And Englman’s office maintained that his review of the IDF’s actions was in accordance with an agreement reached with the IDF, sanctioned by the High Court earlier this year.

“There is nothing new in the announcement issued by the state comptroller last week, and there is nothing new under the sun in the attempts of the Military Advocate General’s Office to stymie the audit while trying to undermine a ‘gatekeeper’ operating under the Basic Law: the State Comptroller,” said Englman’s office.

“It is not appropriate and it is very severe that those in uniform should instruct and attack gatekeepers, as the Military Advocate General’s office is doing at the moment,” the statement added. “None of this will deter the State Comptroller from carrying out his duty and providing the citizens of Israel with the answers they have been expecting for some two years.”

The High Court has yet to weigh in on the IDF’s petition or its request for an interim injunction to halt Englman’s activity.

The comptroller’s probe is currently the only state-sanctioned comprehensive investigation into the October 7 attack, in which thousands of Hamas-led terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 to Gaza as hostages, sparking the ongoing war.

Netanyahu has resisted setting up a state-commissioned inquiry over the last 23 months despite widespread public demand for an official probe, saying that it would be inappropriate while the war with Hamas was still ongoing.

Some critics, including opposition members and government watchdog groups, have raised concerns that Englman, who has no legal background and was appointed under a Netanyahu-led government, may minimize political responsibility for the brutal attack.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid said Monday that he had also been approached by the State Comptroller’s Office and agreed to a meeting “because I’m a law-abiding citizen.” Nevertheless, he said, he requested that the report reflect his comments that Englman’s investigation “is a complete hoax” solely designed to “help Netanyahu evade a State Commission of Inquiry.”

Englman’s investigation, which began in January 2024, was suspended for over a year when trying to probe the IDF and Shin Bet, due to the ongoing war and opposition from senior officials. With the appointment of Zamir in March 2025, a framework for the probe was established and endorsed by the High Court of Justice in April, allowing it to proceed.

Disagreements between the IDF and the state comptroller over how best to investigate the events surrounding October 7 are not new, and have persisted since Englman first announced the probe into “multi-system failures” in December 2023.

The military claimed that the probe would divert the attention of senior commanders from prosecuting the then-active wars with Hamas and Hezbollah — a position backed by former IDF chief of staff Herzi Halevi.

Stav Levaton contributed to this report.