A former commander of the Negev police command told the unofficial October 7 civilian investigation committee that the Nova festival massacre was not part of Hamas’ original plan and may have delayed the terrorists’ attack on southern Israel by several hours.

Eyal Azoulai, who was on duty during the massacre but retired two months ago, said on Monday that “Hamas had not planned for the festival” and their prolonged siege on the party likely held off the invasion of the rest of the state.

Azoulai made the statement during his address of the unofficial October 7 probe committee, which was launched in July by survivors and the families of those killed. The group was formed “to exert broad public pressure for the establishment of a state commission of inquiry” into the government failings leading up to October 7, an investigation which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far been reluctant to initiate.

Azoulai defended the conduct of the Negev police force who he said acted “bravely and courageously” despite being unprepared for the scale of the attack, which he blamed largely on state security forces.

He claimed that the IDF and the Shin Bet had trained them for the invasion of only “dozens” of terrorists, conducting training exercises to prepare for land, sea, air and underground invasions just three weeks prior to the attack. But by Azoulai’s estimates, roughly 10,000 terrorists participated in the invasion, half of whom were armed. The other half, he claimed, were looters and other terrorists not affiliated with Hamas.

Azoulai also criticised the state’s overall security strategy. He claimed that he called Shin Bet at around 6:40am, just minutes after the attack began, asking for permission to disperse the party, which he received. Soon after, Azoulai claimed Shin Bet called him back and said an invasion had been declared, requiring him to inform all police under his command.

For several hours after, local police and event security were the only authorities at the festival site, and Azoulai criticised the army for its delayed arrival. He claimed that army units had been active since noon but were disorganised, only arriving at the site of the festival around 2-3pm.

The unofficial October 7 civilian probe committee has met regularly in recent weeks and has stated that it will provide a discrete space for people to speak anonymously or to submit any relevant information through its website.