IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir said that the new team to investigate Israeli intelligence failures regarding Hamas's "Walls of Jericho" invasion plan will be headed by Maj.-Gen. (res.) Roni Numa in a Thursday announcement.
N12 News reported on Sunday that the IDF will assemble a probe to investigate Israeli intelligence failures regarding Hamas's 2022 invasion plan. This reportedly came as a surprise, given that Zamir was the head of the Southern Command at that time.
The Turgeman Commission, the official investigation into IDF failures on October 7, was criticized by the military and political echelons for failing to investigate both the 2022 "Walls of Jericho" and 2018 raid plans.
"We are moving into the next phase regarding the inquiries of October 7, the phase of integrating the lessons into the IDF’s work plan and implementing them," Zamir said in the release.
"It is our duty to look failure in the eye and extract everything possible to ensure it is not repeated, and to make sure we have learned all that can be learned to improve the IDF’s competence. I believe this process will guide the IDF for years to come, and we must ensure it is thoroughly embedded throughout all components of the organization.”
Zamir has instructed the military to establish a steering team, headed by Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Tamir Yadai, which will be responsible for oversight and implementation of the initiative, the military confirmed.
"The team will ensure that the processes are integrated into the IDF’s organizational work plan," the military stated.
In addition, the IDF's General Staff will hold a "dedicated study day" where the generals will present comments, and the process to implement lessons learned will be detailed.
Zamir summarized the "main lines of effort" which will "serve as a compass for the IDF's evolution in the coming years."
These will include: "Surprise warfare as the guiding principle for IDF operational readiness, institutionalizing norms of competence and preparedness as part of an operational organizational culture, strengthening intelligence as a “profession” and regulating professional processes within the Intelligence Directorate, ground maneuver as a central component of IDF capabilities and a basis for achieving decision, and reinforcing the profession of officership, with an emphasis on developing knowledge, certification processes, and maintaining proficiency."
Who is Maj.-Gen. (res.) Roni Numa?
Numa joined the IDF in 1985, initially serving in the Paratroopers Brigade.
He held several command positions, including Duvdevan, the IDF's undercover counterterrorism unit in the West Bank, IAF's special operations unit Shaldag, the Nahal Brigade, the 98th Division, the 252nd Division, the Depth Command, and the Central Command, retiring in 2018.
In June 2021, then-prime minister Naftali Bennett appointed Numa as a special coronavirus airport commissioner.
He also oversaw assistance to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community during the pandemic, and has played a role in efforts to repair infrastructure around Gaza damaged during the massacre and war, according to Ynet.
Rossella Tercatin contributed to this report.