Bereaved parents and opposition lawmakers welcomed a series of reports by the military on Thursday investigating its failures surrounding the October 7, 2023, attacks but said the IDF probes, while necessary, did not obviate the need for a state commission of inquiry to examine decisions by the political echelon as well.

The publication of the probes also drew a complaint from a top aide to Benjamin Netanyahu, claiming the prime minister had not been briefed on the findings alongside journalists and other officials.

Parents of two surveillance soldiers killed on October 7, who had previously criticized the army for failing to share information about their daughters’ deaths, praised the army for what they said were comprehensive findings on the military’s failings.

“We received a very, very thorough picture,” said Yigal Cohen, whose daughter Cpl. Hadar Cohen, 18, was killed at the Nahal Oz military base on October 7.

“The investigation was good, from our perspective, but it is not a substitute for a state commission of inquiry, which will look deeply into what happened, and we’ll fight for that,” he said to the press after attending a presentation of the military’s findings.

Dror Ashram, the father of Sgt. Shay Ashram, 19, a surveillance soldier who was also killed by terrorists at the Nahal Oz base, said, “They gave us an excellent investigation. Still, there are some things they didn’t do — drawing conclusions. I don’t see one officer who failed on October 7 and has taken responsibility.”

The probe released Thursday found that some 5,000 Hamas-led terrorists from the Gaza Strip burst into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, carrying out a murderous rampage of unprecedented intensity and breadth in three subsequent waves. The IDF’s probes revealed Thursday that it struggled to mount a response, with bases closest to the border overrun and the chain of command broken amid the chaos.

The IDF detailed intelligence material that was repeatedly misinterpreted over the years; the military’s overreliance on having an early warning to prepare its defenses; the degree to which troops were massively outnumbered by the invading terrorists; and the failure to understand what Hamas was doing during the attack.

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi — who is resigning on March 5 in light of the military’s failures surrounding the attack — said he took full responsibility for what was detailed in the reports.

“My responsibility is mine, I was the military commander on October 7. I have my responsibility and I also have all of your responsibility,” Halevi said, in remarks delivered to senior officers on Monday, during a presentation of the IDF’s probes into the attack, which were released to the public on Thursday.

“An organization, and a person, incapable of standing up and looking failure in the eye, will have a very, very difficult time putting it right.”

Halevi said he faces up to his failure every day and told the officers: “Don’t try to forget. Don’t try to look away — not out of weakness; with a great deal of strength — because that’s how we will be stronger.”

The IDF reports were conducted by the military, and while opposition lawmakers welcomed the investigations, they also demanded that a state commission of inquiry, Israel’s strongest investigative body, be set up to investigate the failures leading up to, during, and after the Hamas invasion.

Netanyahu has steadfastly refused to establish a state commission of inquiry, saying that any such probes must be conducted only after the war and claiming that the public would dismiss a state commission’s findings as politicized, despite polls showing majority support for one.

The issue has compounded frayed tensions between the military and government.

Shortly before the embargo on the probes was set to be lifted Thursday night, Netanyahu’s chief of staff sent a letter to the Defense Ministry demanding that the findings of investigations into the October 7 attacks be shared with his boss.

“The investigations were shared with the defense minister, the IDF senior command, and journalists who were briefed,” wrote Tzachi Braverman. “Amazingly, one official has yet to receive the investigations — the prime minister.”

“Proper procedure requires that these investigations also be shared with the prime minister without having to ask for it,” he wrote.

A short while later, Defense Minister Israel Katz’s office issued a statement saying he had “instructed the IDF to immediately transfer to the prime minister all the October 7 reports, and to prepare to present to him, in detail, whatever he deems appropriate from the investigation.”

The Kan public broadcaster, however, reported on Thursday that a senior official had in fact participated in meetings about the reports on behalf of the prime minister.

At the time, the Prime Minister’s Office did not reach out to request any more information or for a separate presentation to Netanyahu about the investigations, the report said.

The PMO responded to the report, saying, “Although the officer participated in the briefing along with the entire senior IDF command staff, this does not change the fact that so far, the investigations have not been passed along for the review of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

“Military reporters are being shown IDF reports before anyone has bothered to bring them, in detail, to the prime minister,” the statement added.

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid wrote on X Thursday night: “The army is demonstrating courage and values and investigating itself, without any attempt to whitewash or cover up its responsibility. The time has come for the failed bunch of cowards called ‘the government of Israel’ to do the same.

“Instead of running away from responsibility all day, they should learn from the army and establish a state commission of inquiry.”

National Unity chairman Benny Gantz posted: “State commission of inquiry now!”

Yair Golan, leader of The Democrats, an amalgam of Labor and Meretz, wrote a post contrasting the IDF, which “deals with its failures, investigates itself, and draws lessons” with the government, which he said “continues to evade” and “whitewash.’

“October 7 was, first and foremost, a resounding political failure,” he said.

Golan said, “We must have a state commission of inquiry. We must draw the truth out into the light. The one who abandoned [the country] must take responsibility and pay the price. We will take care that this happens. We will not compromise for anything less than the truth and responsibility.”

Avigdor Liberman, leader of the hawkish Yisrael Beytenu party, wrote: “The IDF investigations aren’t enough. It’s clear that the security establishment failed and that all those responsible must go home.

“But so long as the October 7 government refuses to establish a state commission of inquiry and to examine the responsibility of the political echelon — it is deliberately preventing the hostages and the families of the murdered from knowing the truth,” he added.