An internal IDF investigation showing that the army entered October 7, 2023, completely unprepared for a prolonged war, with ammunition depots nearly empty and artillery shells below the “red line,” was hidden from the public. Army Radio revealed on Tuesday morning.

The internal report was not even presented to IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir and was not reviewed by the Turgeman Committee—the external “investigation of the IDF investigations” into the army’s October 7 failures.

The findings paint a grim picture of Israel’s pre-October 7 military readiness for a prolonged, multi-front conflict. According to the report, the IDF significantly underestimated the duration of future wars. Its reference scenario was “21+14”—meaning 21 days of fighting in Lebanon, followed six months later by 14 days in Gaza. This meant that for years leading up to October 7, the army prepared for no more than five weeks of war, and not continuously.

The glaringly inadequate assessment meant that the IDF had insufficient stockpiles for a prolonged war and was forced to launch an emergency procurement drive in the first months of the war after the massacre, severely hindering its operational combat capabilities.

The report also revealed another failure: in the year before October 7, 2023, the Biden administration removed over 100,000 artillery shells from Israel and transferred them to the war in Ukraine. Israel had relied on the US emergency stockpile, and its depletion meant that the IDF was left with almost no artillery shells when the massacre took place. The investigation concluded that Israel’s artillery reserves had fallen “below the red line.”

The report, carried out by a colonel in the IDF’s Planning Directorate, sharply criticized various IDF divisions, including the Ground Forces, the IDF General Staff’s Planning and Operations divisions, and the Defense Ministry.

Despite the severity of its conclusions, the report was not presented to the public or the IDF Chief of Staff, nor was it reviewed by the Turjeman Committee. However, it was submitted to the State Comptroller’s Office.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)