At a solemn ceremony on Mount Herzl marking one year since the devastating October 7 Hamas attack, Shin Bet head Ronen Bar addressed the ongoing investigation into Israel’s security failures and committed to ensuring future protection for Israeli citizens. Bar acknowledged the agency’s shortcomings in preventing the attack, calling the incident “a failure in [Israel’s] most basic responsibility — protecting its citizens.”

“We are in the middle of a deep, penetrating investigation that will leave no stone unturned,” Bar stated, emphasizing that the Shin Bet is actively analyzing and correcting its protocols to prevent similar failures. He noted that while the agency has already begun implementing changes, the ongoing probe is aimed at identifying the deeper issues that allowed the attack to occur without sufficient warning.

“The attack did not harm our determination… it only increased it,” he said.

Bar also pledged that the Shin Bet is tracking down every individual involved in the October 7 attack. “We are bringing to justice all those who carried out that horrible massacre, one by one, until we reach everyone,” he said, while also vowing that the agency’s efforts will continue “until the very last hostage returns home.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)