Internal IDF analysis – Operation Gideon’s Chariots failed

Although publicly declared a success, the army made “every possible mistake by waging war contrary to its war doctrine.”

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Despite the chief of staff’s declaration that Operation Gideon’s Chariots was successful in attaining all its goals, an internal analysis said it failed in key ways, Channel 12 reported Sunday evening.

The document was produced by Brig. Gen. (res.) Guy Hazut, head of the operational information center in the ground forces, in preparation for the next stage in the war against Hamas: the takeover of Gaza City.

The army, it stated, made “every possible mistake by waging war contrary to its war doctrine.”

It “acted with deterrence logic rather than decisiveness to achieve another deal” to secure the release of hostages held in the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7, 2023, invasion and massacre.

“Hamas understood this,” the analysis said, and exploited the advantages.

The IDF also “did not concentrate its effort on the [enemy’s] center of gravity” and instead returned to areas it had already conquered but then left.

The army’s force-building was too slow and “did not provide robust solutions to battlefield challenges,” such as tank maintenance and the destruction of enemy infrastructure, the critique said.

It “fought without regard for time management, with the cost being taken more into consideration than the mission, leading to soldiers’ burnout and erosion of weaponry.”

The document noted that Hamas had “all the conditions to survive in order to win” – resources, size and an “appropriate fighting style” — guerrilla warfare — which the IDF failed to counter correctly.

The bottom line, it said, was that Operation Gideon’s Chariots did not achieve its two stated war aims: to defeat Hamas militarily and politically and to return the hostages, either through a deal or military operations.

The document also examined aspects not directly connected to battle management and pointed out two key failures.

“Clumsiness in planning and implementing humanitarian aid led to Hamas’ ‘starvation campaign’ – false but successful,” the document stated, concluding that the operation ended with “the loss of all international credit.”

The analysis did give credit where it was due.

The army succeeded in completely destroying Hamas infrastructure in the perimeter and other areas, it noted. The IDF inflicted serious damage on Hamas’ operatives and infrastructure, eliminated its leadership, and retrieved several bodies of hostages for burial in Israel.

The IDF reacted angrily to the news report, saying, “This content was distributed without the approval of the relevant authorities. The IDF met the goals set as part of Operation Gideon’s Chariots and brought about many achievements. The IDF is currently in phase two of the operation and continues to work to realize the war’s goals.”

The Reservist Commanders Forum, whose hundreds of top-ranking IDF officers have been raising similar alarms about the conduct of the war for the past year, warned that despite the document’s conclusions, “the follow-up operation to Gideon’s Chariots looks exactly like the first part.”

The forum asked that the prime minister and defense minister “demand that the chief of staff present an updated plan that embodies the lessons of the booklet,” because “we do not have extraneous soldiers for non-decisive maneuvers.”

Before any further attack is launched, it stated, the civilian population must be evacuated from combat zones, and “a complete siege” must be placed on the Hamas fighters who remain; in other words, no humanitarian aid should be allowed in.

This aligns with the “Generals’ Plan” that the Forum publicized last year regarding the entire northern section of the Gaza Strip.

According to Channel 12, the commander of the ground forces will meet with Hazut on Monday for a “debriefing.”