More than half of Israelis surveyed in opinion polls say they want an independent government commission to investigate how the massacre happened and how the aftermath was handled. But it seems to be taking a while.
In July, parliament forced through a bill to establish a politically appointed inquiry into the handling of the terror attacks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to appoint the independent commission that so many want to see.
"This shameful law is not meant to reveal the truth, but to bury it," the relatives’ group The October Council said in a statement expressing disappointment.
Could tear open wounds
The site is currently cordoned off, and nothing is happening.
It probably has to do with Netanyahu being afraid of the conclusions of such a commission, says Anders Persson, a Middle East expert at Linnaeus University.
If such a commission is appointed, it could open up major wounds in Israeli society, depending on who is found responsible for what. If the government has made major mistakes or covered things up, it could trigger a very heated debate about betrayal in Israeli society.
Elections are being held in Israel on October 27, and the issue of an investigation into the October 7 attacks is a major one.
It is one of the major election issues because the opposition and 60–80 percent of the population want an independent state investigation appointed in a way more similar to previous inquiries after wars or other events. The current government has opposed this, notes Isabell Schierenbeck, a professor of political science at the University of Gothenburg.
Enormous anger
There is enormous anger in Israel, mainly among those affected by the attack, but also among residents in the north who have been evacuated and have not yet been allowed to return home, according to Schierenbeck.
But there is also broader anger among those who believe that this government has not taken responsibility for what happened on October 7, but is trying to shift the blame onto the defense and security services.
People also want answers about what happened before the attacks. Even during the protests that preceded them, warnings were issued that Israel was vulnerable.
There is criticism that Netanyahu and the government enabled the transfer of money from Qatar to Hamas, for example, and that they opened up work permits for Palestinians from Gaza shortly before the attacks. But the new information that has emerged - that Netanyahu was warned that Hamas was planning something - has further intensified the criticism, says Schierenbeck.
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel. Around 2,500 armed Hamas militants broke through the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel in a coordinated operation. Thousands of rockets were fired at Israeli territory.
Around 1,200 people in Israel, the vast majority of them unarmed civilians, were shot, hacked and burned to death. Massacres were carried out in kibbutzim and at the Nova music festival near the Gaza border. According to Israel, there were systematic rapes, torture and mutilations.
Nearly 250 people, including children, were taken hostage by Hamas and taken to Gaza.
The day after the deadliest attack on Israel in its history, the Israeli government formally declared war on Hamas. Extensive, sustained bombing has since reduced entire areas of the Gaza Strip to rubble. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run Health Ministry. The vast majority are civilians. Israel’s blockade of emergency aid to Gaza has also pushed hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to the brink of a humanitarian disaster.
