Army chief says Israel must draw lessons from Oct 7 'failures'

Israel's army chief Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on Sunday that the military must draw lessons from the "failures" of the response to the October 7, 2023 attack, according to an army statement.

"On October 7th, the IDF (Israeli military) failed severely, but the IDF got back on its feet," Zamir said ahead of the anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel.

"Today, we conclude the investigations into the failures of October 7th, with an understanding of the magnitude of the disaster, alongside the understanding that we must not sink into them, but rather learn, draw lessons, implement them and move forward," he added.

The attack killed 1,221 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

The massive Israeli 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.