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Israel’s Shin Bet, Military Open Investigations Into Events Leading Up to Oct. 7 Massacre
Israeli soldiers look at the remains of a police station which was the site of a battle following a mass infiltration by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Sderot, southern Israel, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
Israel’s internal security agency, the Shin Bet, has begun conducting an investigation into the operational reasons for the failures leading up to and during Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The Shin Bet is probing various units to examine how Palestinian terrorists from Gaza were able to launch the surprise invasion, in which about 1,200 people were killed and another 250 taken as hostages, Israeli media reported.
The investigation will last at least a few weeks and potentially take months because the war in Gaza is still ongoing. The state comptroller has reportedly begun gathering evidence to support the investigation.
Such a probe was expected, though many observers were unsure if Shin Bet head Ronen Bar would wait until the end of the war to begin.
Shortly following the Hamas atrocities of Oct. 7, Bar issued a statement taking responsibility for the security failures of that day.
“Despite a series of actions we carried out, unfortunately, on Saturday we were unable to generate sufficient warning that would allow us to foil the attack,” he said at the time. “As the one who is at the head of the organization, the responsibility for this is on me. There will be time for investigations — now we are fighting.”
Reports have already come about some of the alleged failures by the Shin Bet, including news from last week that hundreds of Israeli SIM cards were activated in the Gaza Strip in the hours before the attack, which could have indicated plans for an invasion.
Additionally, it was reported shortly following the war’s launch that the Israeli security establishment, including Bar and IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, met from midnight until 5 am shortly before the morning attack, concluding that the invasion that began only an hour later would not actually occur.
Beyond the Shin Bet, the Israeli army this week also announced its own internal investigation into the events of Oct. 7.
“Just as charging in the face of enemy fire requires strength and courage, so also facing the interrogations requires courage and leadership,” Halevi wrote in a letter to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) commanders.
“The purpose of the investigation is one: learning. We experienced difficult events at the beginning of the fighting, we failed to protect civilians — a supreme task,” the chief of staff continued. “If we do not courageously analyze what we have done, we will find it difficult to learn and improve; we will find it difficult to stand up to the citizens of Israel and say that we have tested and learned and will know how to protect them better.”
The post Israel’s Shin Bet, Military Open Investigations Into Events Leading Up to Oct. 7 Massacre first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.