Netanyahu should be investigated for Oct. 7 failure, his defence minister says

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Thursday called for a state inquiry into failings around the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, saying it should investigate Gallant himself and his boss, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gallant made the comments at a graduation ceremony for new military officers, also attended by Netanyahu, whose coalition government is already strained by infighting.

The state inquiry, he said, "must be objective, it needs to investigate all of us, those who make decisions and those who carry them out, the government, the military, and the security agencies."

"It must investigate me, the defence minister, it must investigate the prime minister," Gallant said, to cheers from the crowd.

Netanyahu has dismissed past calls to form a state inquiry into the Oct. 7 attack, which caught Israel off guard and sparked the war in Gaza, saying that examinations into what happened should be carried out once the war ends.

Only the government can decide to form a state commission of inquiry, which has a broad mandate and its findings carry weight. The chief justice of the Supreme Court chooses its members.

Gallant has broken ranks with Netanyahu before.

Last year, after months of nationwide protests against government plans to curb supreme court powers, Gallant said proposed legislation should be dropped, warning the public dispute could hurt national security.

Netanyahu immediately sacked him, spurring tens of thousands of Israelis to take to the streets in support of Gallant. The veteran prime minister eventually relented and Gallant kept his job.

Gallant has since clashed with Netanyahu over Gaza strategy, prompting some members of their Likud party to call for him to be dismissed from his post.

(Reporting by Maayan Lubell and Ari Rabinovitch; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrew Heavens)