IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir summoned senior officers for private meetings Sunday to announce command actions following the October 7 failure, marking a decisive shift toward individual accountability. The officers held command roles with operational responsibility the morning of the massacre.

Officers summoned included Military Intelligence Directorate head Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, who led the Operations Branch at IDF General Staff, and former Southern Command chief Yaron Finkelman, who commanded the sector during the massacre and led the Operations Division months earlier. Operations Directorate Chief Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk, who held that post the morning of the massacre, was also called in. Meetings will extend to lower ranks beyond those with the chief of staff.

Also summoned were Maj. Gen. (res.) Aharon Haliva, who served in his last position as head of the Military Intelligence Directorate when the war broke out and retired from his position, and retiring Gaza Division Commander Avi Rosenfeld, Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, Israeli Navy Commander David Salama, and Brig. Gen. (Res.) Yossi Sariel (former Unit 8200 commander). Additional officers were also summoned, with major generals and brigadier generals meeting with the chief of staff and additional officers going to the deputy chief of staff.

Among those not summoned are Maj. Gen. Rasan Alian and then-Air Force Chief Operations Officer Omer Tishler.

Five investigations were flagged – those addressing the Operations Branch's performance under current Military Intelligence Directorate head Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, the systemic-strategic level (the conception), the pre-attack night investigation that fell short of established standards, the Israeli Navy probe, and IDF operational planning.

The report notes that beyond the General Staff as a whole, which fundamentally misjudged Hamas intentions despite labeling it a "terror army" (and failed to produce an adequate military response), other bodies contributing significantly over years to the catastrophic failure include the Operations Directorate, Military Intelligence Directorate, Southern Command, and Gaza Division, which couldn't defend the sector against the Strip's threat.

These bodies' failures are extensive, but central ones involve threat assessment, surprise attack readiness, identifying Hamas operational developments, defense failures for southern communities, and matching actions to field results – which surpassed, as stated, the reference scenarios the military constructed over years.

The Israeli Air Force and Navy also contributed to Israeli failure, with main shortcomings found in creating defensive coverage in national airspace and protecting Israeli shores at war's start. The report also describes chaos in reporting to higher echelons and gathering precise intelligence during the attack across various bodies.

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In another first for women's military service in Israel, deputy commander of the IDF's 9900th Unit, Lt. Col. R., has been appointed head of the Military Intelligence unit monitoring Iran, becoming the first woman to hold the position.

In her new role, R. will oversee the intelligence-gathering aspect of operations against what the military defines as third-circle enemy states, including Iran.

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R., 37, a married mother of two, came up through the ranks of Military Intelligence. She started her service in 2002, decrypting aerial images, then completed officers training and served in a number of roles in the IDF's 9900th Unit, which is responsible for image analysis and creating maps from encrypted images.

"I'm excited and proud to be the first woman to serve in a job so important to the security of Israel, a role that requires responsibility, the ability to cooperate, and make the proper operational decisions in such a complicated arena," R. said after her appointment was announced.

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The unit, which will serve under the Intelligence Directorate's VISINT 9900 Unit, will deploy drones equipped with sophisticated technology and employ methods that differ from the army's traditional use of drone technology.

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At this stage, the unit has over 10 large multi-rotor drones and several smaller ones of various types. Some of the drones are Israeli-made, while others were manufactured in the United States and elsewhere.

Unit 9900 is "dedicated to everything related to geography, including mapping, interpretation of aerial and satellite photographs and space research," according to the IDF's website.

"The [new drone] unit will be a significant multiplier of 9900's ability to provide geo-visual intelligence," the IDF said in a statement.

Another unique aspect of Unit 9900 is that within its ranks is a small contingent of soldiers who are diagnosed on the autism spectrum. These soldiers, the army has learned, have remarkable visual and analytic capabilities, and can detect even the smallest details, undetectable to most people.

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