Israelis March Demanding Inquiry Into Government Failures

(MENAFN) Thousands of Israelis took to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Saturday, demanding a formal state investigation into the political and security failures surrounding the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and its aftermath, Israeli media reported.

Approximately 2,000 demonstrators converged on Habima Square in Tel Aviv, while a separate crowd of 250 gathered in Jerusalem, according to an Israeli newspaper. The demonstrations were organized by civil society groups and victims' families, who called for full accountability over decisions they contend precipitated systemic failures dating back to October 2023 — when nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed and 250 others were seized as hostages and taken into the Gaza Strip.

In Jerusalem, tensions escalated when police moved in to forcibly disperse a group of protesters who refused to comply with evacuation orders, the newspaper reported.

Demonstrators voiced unified opposition to what they characterized as a "leadership evasion of responsibility," pressing authorities to establish an independent state commission empowered to scrutinize institutional shortcomings and enforce accountability among those responsible.

The calls for a formal inquiry come despite acknowledgments from senior Israeli political, security, and military figures that the response to the October 7 attack constituted a failure — with several officials having already resigned and conceded partial responsibility.

In the wake of the attack, Israel launched a military offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 72,000 Palestinians — the majority of them women and children — while devastating 90% of the enclave's civilian infrastructure. The UN has estimated reconstruction costs at approximately $70 billion.

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