Thousands gather in Tel Aviv to demand state probe on October 7 failures

“The people of Israel deserve answers about how the terrible failure happened and how to prevent it from happening again,” former prime minister Naftali Bennett published on X/Twitter.

Thousands of people gathered at Habima Square, Tel Aviv, on Saturday night, demanding a state probe into the failures of the October 7 massacre, arguing that the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must recognize the mistakes committed during Hamas’s attack on Israel.

The protest was organized by the October Council, an activist group made up of hundreds of families affected by the massacre.

“The people of Israel deserve answers about how the terrible failure happened and how to prevent it from happening again,” former prime minister Naftali Bennett, who was present at the protest, published on X/Twitter.

Other opposition leaders were present alongside Bennett, including Yair Lapid, Avigdor Liberman, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisenkot, and Yair Golan.

“Tonight in the square, we gathered with one clear call – the establishment of a state commission of inquiry. In our government, this will happen in the first days,” Lapid wrote on X.

In a separate event at Hostage Square, families of the hostages gathered to demand the return of the three missing hostages whose remains are still held by Hamas in Gaza.

Strong message against Netanyahu

“Nine ministers and officials in the government of default and disaster were called this week for the despicable task of training the creep called the ‘Special Investigation Committee.’ Their mission is to ensure that the truth is not investigated and never comes to light,” former MK Yizhar Shai, father of the late Yaron Shai, a Nahal Brigade soldier who fell on October 7, said.

Shai served as an MK for Gantz’s Blue and White party, and was Innovation, Science, and Technology minister.

Lior Akerman, a former brigadier-general who served as a Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) division head, said he used to identify with the right-wing policies in Israel, but the current events have made him understand that “the problems are no longer between right and left.”

“For three years now, the government has been attacking and harming the state’s institutions, its security organizations, the legal system, and the law,” Akerman said. He also claimed that the current administration is trampling on the values of statehood, morality, and unity in an effort to create a dictatorship.