State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman said Thursday that office holders, including political and military officials, have “exposed to the public” only partial details about his review of the failures surrounding the Hamas-led invasion and atrocities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

He appeared to be referring, at least in part, to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent release of a 55-page document of his answers given to Englman for his probe, which included selectively chosen excerpts of security cabinet meetings regarding the situation in Gaza before October 7.

Englman made his comments in his response to High Court of Justice petitions asking the court to order him to end his review and not publish the conclusions and reports on the key issues of the October 7 failings.

The comptroller has not released findings from his investigation, which the court ordered him to freeze in December. Netanyahu released his document earlier this month, pinning the failure to prevent the onslaught on political rivals and security chiefs while presenting himself in a positive light and deflecting his responsibility for the attack.

“This conduct is improper since in this state of affairs, in which the audit procedures were terminated before the reports were completed and published to the public, the public was exposed to a partial picture, as provided by the aforementioned officials, instead of receiving complete and final review reports, which include the findings of the state comptroller,” said Englman.

The State Comptroller’s Office said that its response to the petitions “disproves one by one” the claims made against Englman’s probe, “and details the damage done to the public interest that has already taken place due to the court order, and the damage which is likely to happen if the court rules in favor of the petitions.”

Netanyahu’s office responded by saying the premier aimed to show the truth to the public with his document.

“The prime minister published the protocols in accordance with his authority in order to reveal the truth to the public after the High Court of Justice halted the comptroller’s investigation,” the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement. “The only way to reveal the entire truth is through an equal and independent investigative committee, which will represent the entire public, and all materials will be presented to it.”

The comptroller’s probe was controversial from the get-go, facing claims that it is severely flawed, would taint evidence and the investigative process, and that only a state commission of inquiry could properly investigate the disaster. It also drew scrutiny because Englman was appointed under a government led by Netanyahu.

The Military Advocate General’s Corps’ Military Defense unit and Movement for Quality government petitioned the High Court in September, alleging that there were “substantive flaws” in Englman’s information-gathering processes, and argued more broadly that the ombudsman has no remit to conduct an inquiry into the October 7 attack, since the role of the office is to examine the processes of the agencies under review but not to examine policy and strategy.

Opinion polls have regularly shown a clear majority of Israelis support a state commission of inquiry, Israel’s highest investigative authority, which Netanyahu opposes because it is appointed by the judiciary, which he argues would be biased as his government is pushing to curb the courts’ powers.

During the October 7 attack, terrorists who burst into the country from the Gaza Strip killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251, also mostly civilians, who were taken as hostages to Gaza. The attack triggered a war, which eventually ended with a US-brokered ceasefire in October 2025. All of the hostages, dozens of them dead, have been returned to Israel.

If so, we have a request. 

Every day during the past two years of war and rising global anti-Zionism and antisemitism, our journalists kept you abreast of the most important developments that merit your attention. Millions of people rely on ToI for fact-based coverage of Israel and the Jewish world. 

We care about Israel - and we know you do too. So we have an ask for this new year of 2026: express your values by joining The Times of Israel Community, an exclusive group for readers like you who appreciate and financially support our work. 

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting valuable, in a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically since October 7.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 In breakthrough, Israeli scientists use deep-brain stimulation to counter schizophrenia

2 White House: There are many arguments for striking Iran, they’d be wise to make a deal

3 Israel, US envoy reject Tucker Carlson’s claim he was detained and interrogated at airport

4 Vegetarian and vegan babies develop at same rate as meat-eating peers – Israeli study

5 Satellite images show Iran repairing and fortifying sites amid tensions with US

6 Iran insists on ‘right’ to enrichment as US builds biggest Mideast force since 2003

7 What Matters Now podcastAhmed Fouad Alkhatib: NGO admits Hamas controls Gaza’s hospitals. Why now?

8 ExclusiveUS approves formal communication channel between PA and Board of Peace — officials

PMO Prime Minister's Office

2023-2025 Israel-Hamas war

© The Times of Israel