What changed
Three years after the 7 October 2023 attacks, Israelis are again demanding accountability for the security and intelligence failures that preceded them.
At Kfar Aza, where 64 residents were killed and 19 kidnapped, families marked the anniversary while Israel still has no independent state inquiry. Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister during the failure, is seeking re-election and continues to reject personal responsibility.
Why it matters
The argument is no longer only about what happened when Hamas-led attackers crossed the border. Families want answers about the warnings, decisions and institutional failures that came before it.
Young female soldiers monitoring the Gaza border had reportedly raised concerns about preparations for an attack. Roni Eshel was among 15 members of her unit killed at Nahal Oz. Her uncle, Elad Levy, says the investigation must examine not only the attack day but the year before it, and the years before that.
That demand reaches directly into Israel’s political future. Netanyahu is campaigning on being the strongest protector of the country, even as questions remain about what warnings reached political leaders, when they arrived and what he knew. Those facts are still uncertain.
The basic consequence is clear: without an independent inquiry, bereaved families and the public are being asked to live with a national failure whose causes remain politically contested. Whether Israel establishes such an inquiry will determine whether accountability becomes an institutional process or remains a campaign argument.
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