"Where were you?" Families furious over Nova Festival report  

On Wednesday morning, the IDF presented its findings on the response to the Nova music festival massacre to the bereaved families, marking a critical step in the ongoing investigation into the failures of October 7, 2023.

The presentation, set to be conducted in stages, first reached the families of the hostages earlier this week. On Thursday, the full report is expected to be released to the general public and the media.

Brigadier General (res.) Ido Mizrahi and Major General Dan Goldfuss, who led the investigative team, addressed the grieving families with a sobering admission. "We were wrong. We didn’t understand the magnitude of what was happening," Goldfuss stated.

His words, however, sparked outrage in the room. Anat, a bereaved mother, tearfully accused the IDF of abandoning her daughter. "She went into the shelter, just like you told her to—but you didn’t save her."

Parents shouted at the IDF representatives, demanding answers. Ofir Dor, father of Idan Dor, who was murdered at Nova, rejected the findings outright. "They call the murder of our children a ‘mistake.’ Where were you? Our children were being slaughtered, and you were asleep."

Adding to the tension, several bereaved parents were denied entry to the presentation for refusing to surrender their phones at the door. The restriction fueled further anger, with families accusing the IDF of trying to control the narrative and limit access to crucial details about the military’s response.