Brigadier General (res.) Oren Solomon, former director of combat for the Gaza Division, was arrested and questioned by military police investigators (MPI) on Monday morning. Solomon, who led a comprehensive probe into the failures of October 7, claims the investigation against him is an attempt to suppress his findings, which indicate that senior IDF officials mishandled the initial response to the Hamas attack and later sought to cover up their failures.
Defense Minister Israel Katz demanded on Monday that Brigadier General Solomon be summoned to his office to throw light on the affair. In response, Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir stated, “The Chief of Staff does not receive instructions through media announcements.”
Zamir dismissed the claim that Solomon was being investigated for his role in the October 7 inquiries, calling it “false and devoid of any basis.” He insisted that Solomon was summoned due to suspicions of serious information security violations.
“The investigation will continue to be conducted professionally and objectively,” Zamir said, adding, “I support the IDF law enforcement agencies acting in accordance with the law to investigate suspicions as required.”
In a letter Solomon sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before his arrest, Solomon claimed that his investigation over the past few months revealed severe failures in the response of then-Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi, the Operations Division, the Air Force, and the Southern Command during the first six hours of the October 7 attack. He asserted that the military’s missteps diverted critical forces from areas in urgent need of assistance, exacerbating the scale of the catastrophe.
Solomon further alleged that not only did the IDF fail to learn from the October 7 failures, but he himself was deliberately silenced. “I encountered a well-oiled system that used authority and rank to make me ‘disappear’ and, most importantly, to prevent the findings of my investigation from being exposed both within and outside the IDF,” he wrote. He claimed that about two weeks ago, he was barred from accessing military systems, suggesting that his pending arrest was merely a continuation of this effort to suppress his findings.
Solomon was responsible for the October 7 investigations in the Gaza Division and was exposed to most of the findings. He was picked up for questioning on suspicion of serious information security violations. As soon as his arrest became known, political elements on the right began to express their opposition, claiming that it was an attempt by the IDF to prevent criticism of the senior echelons of the army. They claim that the investigations Solomon conducted regarding the Gaza Division raise serious allegations against the senior echelons of the army.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Office responded, stating, “An investigation by the Military Intelligence Service was opened against the officer on suspicion of serious information security violations, following findings from an initial examination that required further inquiry. The officer was not arrested; he was summoned for questioning and appeared accordingly. The investigation is in its early stages, and it is not possible to comment on the actions taken.”
MK Amit Halevi (Likud) strongly condemned the arrest, calling it “a shameful and criminal attempt at intimidation with the clear goal of covering up and concealing the failures.” He urged Defense Minister Israel Katz and Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to “immediately publish the findings of the investigation and ensure the release of Brigadier General Solomon to his home.”
