An internal evaluation accuses the army of acting “contrary to its own military doctrine,” by providing the enemy with humanitarian aid, failing to impose time pressure, mismanaging resources, and ultimately exhausting its own forces while at the same time eroding international support.
A classified Israel Defense Forces (IDF) document circulated within the armed forces concludes that the military operation “Chariots of Gideon,” the large-scale assault launched by Israel against Hamas in May, did not achieve its primary objectives, according to a report by Israel’s Channel 12 television.
According to excerpts of the document released by Channel 12, the military campaign failed to meet any of its stated goals — neither the military overthrow of Hamas nor the release of hostages.
While IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and other senior officers have publicly praised the operation, the internal assessment explicitly states that “Israel made every possible mistake” during the campaign.
The evaluation charges that the army acted “contrary to its own military doctrine,” by supplying the enemy with resources through humanitarian aid, failing to impose time constraints, mismanaging resources, and eventually depleting its own forces while undermining international support.
According to the document, Hamas at the same time enjoyed all the necessary conditions for survival — projecting success, diverting resources, securing territory, and employing an effective method of combat.
The report emphasizes that Israel’s reliance on a “logic of deterrence rather than decisive victory” — seeking a ceasefire and hostage release agreement with Hamas — combined with its “incompetence” in the planning and distribution of aid, allowed Hamas to successfully wage what the report calls a “fake starvation campaign.”
The IDF is further criticized for repeatedly manoeuvring in the same areas at a slow pace, prioritizing the avoidance of casualties over mission success. The assessment also cites attrition, exhaustion of personnel, and poor preparation for guerrilla warfare as key reasons for failure.
