Bereaved Outskirts Mother Demands Answers Over October 7 Failures

Smdar Segal, a bereaved mother from the Gaza border area of Ein HaBesor, says the unanswered questions around the October 7 massacre and the weeks before it point to concealment and cover-up. In an interview with Channel 7, she said a future inquiry must examine the army’s conduct in the critical week before the attack, when there had been riots at the Gaza fence, explosive devices were detonated there, and Nukhba forces were practicing near Netiv HaAsara for infiltration and kidnapping.

Segal said the security establishment, including the Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, had recommended bringing more money into Gaza and allowing more Palestinian workers in because “Hamas is deterred.” She contrasted that with what she described as rare warnings from lawmakers Tali Gotliv and Limor Son Har-Melech, who were removed from Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meetings after pressing for answers. She also cited a meeting between Asaf Hamami and local security chiefs, saying a question about Sukkot was met with reassurance that everything would be fine.

According to Segal, senior commanders knew much more than they admitted. She said Herzi Halevi visited her moshav with his wife two days before October 7, and she accused Halevi and Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of being part of the deception, including secret talks in Egypt in June about a truce without government approval. She pointed to the long-standing “Jericho Wall” report, which she said had been known since 2017, and asked why weapons were removed from local response squads, leaving Ein HaBesor with only two guns when the Nukhba arrived.

Segal also claimed there were missed warnings from the Israel Police, the Air Force, and the navy, and said information could have enabled evacuating the Nova party, alerting local security teams, and sending more troops. She said a naval officer prevented an infiltration toward Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Yavne, and that Nukhba terrorists came with maps of Hatzor Air Base. She blamed the delay in restoring weapons to civilian defense squads on then-defense minister Yoav Gallant and on opponents of Itamar Ben Gvir, whom she praised for later helping create 700 local emergency squads and push the National Guard plan.