Ex-IDF Official Claims Data Falsified to Avoid Gaza Operation

Former IDF Brigadier General and "Am Israel" party chairman Ofer Winter claimed Tuesday that during Gadi Eisenkot's tenure as chief of staff, the military fabricated data to avoid a large-scale operation in Gaza. Winter made the accusations at an activists' conference, stating that the defense establishment "became addicted to illusory quiet" and pursued a policy of containment.

Winter, who served as military secretary to the defense minister in October 2018, cited an incident where Hamas launched incendiary balloons. He alleged that while the cabinet authorized an attack in case of escalation, the IDF spokesperson issued a misleading statement to the press. Winter asserted that the spokesperson reported the day as the quietest in three months, but internal data later showed it was the most severe period. He questioned the "madness" of deceiving the political echelon and manipulating reality to prevent action, attributing it to a desire for "illusory quiet."

Referencing Ze'ev Jabotinsky's "Iron Wall" essay, Winter argued that Arab adversaries will never abandon their goal of destroying Israel. He stated that the October 7th attacks exposed the heavy price of a long-held, flawed concept within the defense establishment. Winter concluded that Israel must shift to a policy of decisive action and initiative, rather than containment and cyclical conflicts, leveraging the military's strength to defeat the enemy.