The National Times - Israel military admits October 7 failure

The ceasefire, whose first phase is set to expire on Saturday, has largely halted the fighting that began when Hamas Islamist militants broke through Gaza's security barrier in an unprecedented attack resulting in the deaths of more than 1,200 people in Israel, official figures show.

Israel's military retaliation killed more than 48,000 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.

A second truce phase, that would bring a lasting end to the war, has not been agreed.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent negotiators to Cairo on Thursday, two days before the first phase expires, after Hamas handed over the remains of four hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners under the truce.

Israeli and Qatari delegations also arrived in the Egyptian capital for the talks, Egypt's State Information Service said Thursday, noting that US representatives were taking part.

An internal Israeli army probe into the October 7 attack, released on Thursday, acknowledged the military's "complete failure" to prevent it, said a military official briefing reporters about the report's contents, on condition of anonymity.

"Too many civilians died that day asking themselves in their hearts or out loud, where was the IDF?" the official said, referring to the military.

A senior military official said at the same briefing that the military acknowledges it was "overconfident" and had misconceptions about Hamas's military capabilities before the attack.

Following the probe's release, Israel's military chief General Herzi Halevi said: "The responsiblity is mine."

Halevi had already resigned last month citing the October 7 "failure".

During their attack, militants seized dozens of hostages, whose return the government says has been a key aim of the war.

Netanyahu, however, has been criticised at home for his handling of the war and the hostages.

- Four decades in prison -

The hostage-prisoner swap early Thursday was the final one under the initial stage of the fragile truce that took effect on January 19.

Under that phase, Hamas freed in stages 25 living Israeli and dual-national hostages seized in its October 7 attack and returned the bodies of eight others.

It also released five Thai prisoners outside the deal's terms.

Israel, in return, was expected to free around 1,900 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel's Prison Service said that "643 terrorists were transferred from several prisons across the country" and released under the terms of the truce deal after Hamas returned four hostages' bodies.

Among those freed was the longest-serving Palestinian prisoner in an Israeli jail, Nael Barghouti, who spent more than four decades behind bars. He was first arrested in 1978 and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an Israeli officer and attacks on Israeli sites.

After the swap, Hamas called on Israel to return to delayed talks on the truce's next phase.

"We have cut off the path before the enemy's false justifications, and it has no choice but to start negotiations for the second phase," Hamas said.

Later on Thursday, Netanyahu's office said he instructed Israeli negotiators to head to Cairo for the Gaza talks.

The prisoners freed Thursday were meant to be released last weekend but Israel delayed the process after Hamas staged elaborate handover ceremonies.

Hamas said Thursday's handover would take place in private "to prevent the occupation from finding any pretext for delay".

"We were in hell and we came out of hell. Today is my real day of birth," said one prisoner, Yahya Shraideh.

AFP images showed some freed prisoners awaiting treatment or being assessed at the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, after their release.

Freed Palestinian prisoners were hospitalised following earlier swaps, and the emaciated state of some released Israeli hostages sparked concern over conditions in captivity.

- 'Very tough day' -

Hours after the handover, an Israeli campaign group confirmed "with profound sorrow" the identities of the four bodies Hamas returned on Thursday.

Ohad Yahalomi, Tsachi Idan, Itzik Elgarat and Shlomo Mansour "have been laid to eternal rest in Israel", said the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.

Netanyahu's office said based on "all of the information at our disposal", Yahalomi, Idan and Elgarat "were murdered while held hostage in Gaza".

Mansour, it added, was "murdered" on October 7, 2023.

Israel Berman, a businessman and former member of the Nahal Oz kibbutz community where Idan was abducted, said that "until the very last moment, we were hoping that Tsachi would return to us alive".

"This morning brought us the harsh news," he added. "It's a very tough day."

"We're making a lot of progress. Israel is sending a team right now as we speak," Steve Witkoff said.

The current truce was only reached after months of gruelling negotiations, and some members of Netanyahu's coalition are eager to resume the war.

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas's attack, 58 are still being held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

The war destroyed or damaged more than 69 percent of Gaza's buildings, displaced almost the entire population, and triggered widespread hunger, according to the United Nations.

P.Barry--TNT