Ex-IDF Chief Halevi: Oct. 7 Was Preventable Failure, No Internal Betrayal

Former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi stated on Sunday that the October 7th Hamas attack was a failure that could have been prevented. Speaking at the "Shurat HaDin" conference on combating antisemitism in New York, Halevi unequivocally dismissed claims of internal betrayal, asserting, "One hundred percent there was no betrayal." He argued that the political echelon and leadership should publicly state this. Halevi expressed confidence in the individuals who served alongside him, stating he does not believe any would have collaborated with Hamas after decades of service and risking their lives, noting that such a conspiracy would require a wide network, none of which has been discovered even after three years.

Halevi emphasized the necessity of a state inquiry commission to facilitate Israel's learning and healing process. "October 7th was a failure that could have been prevented. We need to look failure in the eye to be able to fix it," he said, citing the fear in the eyes of Shiri Bibas as an example of the failure to help and save victims in time.

Regarding the war in Gaza and hostage recovery, Halevi contended that military pressure was essential. He explained it took considerable effort to convince the political echelon to maneuver within Gaza, breaking the pattern of smaller operations based solely on air strikes. "Without strong military pressure inside Gaza, we could not have recovered the hostages," he stated.

Halevi acknowledged that mistakes were made during the fighting, including instances where IDF bombs killed hostages, clarifying these were unintentional and occurred because their locations were unknown. He added that the military has undergone a learning process to improve its ability to locate hostages and prevent similar incidents.

Reflecting on pre-attack security priorities, Halevi explained that Iran and Hezbollah were prioritized over Hamas. He noted that assessments within the IDF, Shin Bet, and the political echelon believed Hamas was not interested in war, partly because it sought to demonstrate its ability to manage Gaza. Halevi claimed Hamas invested significant effort to foster this perception and mislead Israel. He also addressed Yahya Sinwar's attempt to surprise Israel by acting on multiple fronts simultaneously, noting that every point near the Gaza border was attacked immediately after 6:29 AM. Halevi recalled that Israel sent a message to Hezbollah later on October 7th, warning of severe retaliation if even a small move was made from Lebanon.