outgoing IDF chief Herzi Halevi said the IDF “expected something very different of ourselves” and had never thought anything like October 7 could happen
Halevi stated,
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Obviously, it would have acted differently if it had known this could happen
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We considered Hamas to be a limited military force
We didn’t see a scenario of a wide surprise [Hamas] attack as a realistic scenario
"And if there was to be something like that, our assumption was that we would get a warning ahead of time from [military] intelligence”
Underestimating theterroristsOverestimating 'Fort Knox' Israel
Halevi said, 1. The assessment was that a combination of intelligence warnings 2. the security fence around Gaza 3. and the protection afforded by IDF troops offered appropriate protection 4. This assessment “collapsed”
Halevi added,
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“When I ranked the borders, I put the Gaza as the last border that needed attention”
We felt that, 1. the subterranean barrier was very high quality 2. the intelligence gathering was advanced 3. the topography was helpful
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"We put the northern border as the most grave [priority]… facing Hezbollah”
“We thought our situation overall was good” Famous last words
