Israel army chief says Oct 7 failures need lessons

Israel's army chief, Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, said on Sunday that the military must learn from the "failures" in its response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attack.

In an army statement ahead of the anniversary of the attack, Zamir said the Israeli military had "failed severely" on October 7 but had recovered.

"Today, we conclude the investigations into the failures of October 7th," Zamir said, adding that the military had to learn, draw lessons, implement them and move forward.

The October 7 attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's military offensive in response has left most of Gaza in ruins and killed more than 74,200 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, which is under Hamas authority and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.