State Comptroller and Ombudsman, Matanyahu Englman, toured the War Room in Sderot, where he received a survey from the mayor, Alon Davidi, at the city police station, which was demolished after terrorists had barricaded themselves inside, and the Barzilai Medical Center, where he received a survey from the medical center's director, Prof. Hezi Levi (10.10.23).
During the visit to Sderot, the State Comptroller met with the commander of the Sderot police station and with the deputy district commander who were present at the site, and showed him the course of the battle with the terrorists around the Sderot police station. At the intensive care unit at the Barzilai hospital, the Comptroller met with wounded people who had taken part in the battles against the terrorists and with their families.
The State Comptroller related to the events which had befallen Israel and said:
"Three days ago, the embodiment of evil penetrated the very heart of the State of Israel. Hamas terrorists were revealed in all their cruelty. The whole world is shocked.
The time will come when we make an examination of everything that has happened, both from the military and political aspect and from the civilian aspect. At the moment, the fighting forces are in the field. From this place, I wish to boost their spirit and thank them for their joining the cause.
In the meantime, I can and will say that recently we conducted a surprise audit of the situation at the northern border. This is not a theoretical report. The northern front is also very hot, and there have also been incidents there in recent days. A few weeks ago, the report was sent to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense for their response. Even now I can say that there are significant defects and the political and IDF echelons must rectify them immediately.
Israeli citizens have also demonstrated amazing resourcefulness. I have the greatest respect for them. Alongside this, all the government and local government bodies must act, each in its field, on an emergency footing, in order to provide a response to the residents of the south, to the families of the murdered, missing and kidnapped, the wounded and all Israeli citizens who so require.
In recent years we have published reports which examined the very reality we are currently experiencing. We examined the national preparedness for protection against the threat of drones, the security elements in the confrontation line localities and regional commands, plans for the power plant, we examined the living conditions and the infrastructures for the fighters in compulsory service and in the reserves, the preparedness of the local authorities for handling persons suffering from anxiety during an emergency, the activity of the Coordinator for Hostages and Missing Persons, the management of biometric information and its use in a time of emergency, cyber protection, and more.
In all these reports we highlighted the defects, and we wrote recommendations for implementation. The government ministries must act immediately to rectify the defects and implement the recommendations, in order to provide a response for the millions of citizens who so require.
Presently, and in particular during a time of war, we at the Office of the State Comptroller shall focus on tracking the treatment of civilians, and in particular via the Office of the Ombudsman. We have opened a special emergency hotline to receive complaints from residents of the south who are not getting any response from the government ministries and other public bodies.
I shall once again emphasize – the time for examining the failures will come and it will be highly comprehensive.
But for now, I call upon the residents of Israel, and in particular the residents of the south, to use us in order to get the response they deserve".
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