Ex-IDF General Admits Mistakes in Handling Hostages During Gaza War

Retired Major General Nitzan Alon, who led the captive and missing persons headquarters during the war, stated on Thursday that daily decisions were made, and sometimes mistakes were committed, in the effort to rescue hostages held in Gaza. Speaking at the Israel Information Technology Conference 2026 in Tel Aviv, Alon, who also co-manages Elements VC since leaving the IDF, described the establishment of the captive and missing persons apparatus after the October 7th massacre. He detailed the use of technology and the operational and ethical dilemmas involved in the efforts to bring hostages home.

Alon characterized October 7th as an unimaginable catastrophe and a failure for which Israel was unprepared. He explained that the organization was built from scratch on the night of October 7-8, starting with 3,146 individuals unaccounted for. The initial priority was to identify who was kidnapped, who was alive, and where they were being held. It quickly became apparent that large-scale rescue operations were not feasible, and most hostages would need to be returned through agreements, with the primary mission being to keep them alive until then.

The former general highlighted the collection of information from various visual sources, emphasizing that the synergy between these sources was a force multiplier. He noted the extreme difficulty of extracting signals from tunnels as deep as 30 meters, requiring innovative solutions. Alon elaborated on the complex decisions made, such as determining where to maneuver, where not to attack, and the appropriate use of munitions, balancing the risk to soldiers' lives against the danger to hostages. He mentioned that in many instances, hostages were successfully saved, attributing these successes to reservists, many from the high-tech industry, who demonstrated exceptional dedication.