Israeli media reported on the failure that the army suffered on October 7, despite engaging in military exercises simulating an attack similar to the "Al-Aqsa Flood" carried out by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

Israeli Channel 12 said that the General Staff conducted an inspection of the Gaza Division bases on Wednesday morning, 72 hours before the surprise Hamas attack, noting that training had been conducted for all military sites in the Gaza Division.

It pointed out that only one military site did not receive a failure mark, referring to “Yifthah,” while the rest of the sites during the training were in a state of complete absence in the face of an incursion into military bases and sites.

The channel indicated that the training included confronting the entry of infantry or vehicles into military sites without permission, seizing combat equipment from ammunition depots, storming the control room of the operations department and the fence control room, in addition to seizing the keys to the armament rooms.

However, according to the channel, 54 male and female recruits were killed at the Nahal Oz military site and 10 others were captured, some of whom are still in the hands of Hamas, stressing that the army was unable to correct the failures it inspected and discovered several days ago.

Controversial appointment

Regarding the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel Shlomi Bandar as the new head of the Army Intelligence Division (AMAN) to succeed the resigned Aharon Haliva, Alon Ben David, a military affairs analyst on Channel 13, said that it is controversial. “His professional reputation has been tarnished, as his role in the October 7 attack has not been investigated, at least.” When he headed the Operations Division.

The military analyst added, “The Intelligence Division is a broken and broken body, and is witnessing internal conflicts, and the majority of its leaders must be replaced.” Then he continued, asking, “Is Bandar qualified and is he the right person?”

In a related context, Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy recently asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “conduct a comprehensive strategic discussion on all fronts, which requires balanced decisions, that is, building a long-term strategy,” according to Israeli Channel 12.

According to the same source, Netanyahu’s refusal to hold this discussion affects the army, as it is not possible to continue implementing operational plans until decisions are made, especially since a state of frustration prevails within the security services.

The channel quoted Israeli security officials as saying, "Tactical achievements are not translated into strategic operations. In fact, we are in a vicious, never-ending circle, and this affects the army and its resources."

Struck remarks

In turn, former Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon responded to the statements of a right-wing minister, saying that Israel is unable to end the situation in Gaza because the government has people who do not allow a decisive decision to be taken, "but rather they want a military ruler of Gaza, a civil administration, and an occupation and expulsion of the Arabs."

He told Channel 13, "These people reject the possibility of liberating the kidnapped (prisoners) because they prefer occupation, displacement, and Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip."

The Minister of Settlement and National Missions, Orit Struk, said two days ago, "The government that sends soldiers to war to save 22 or 33 people has no right to exist and remain."

Source: Al Jazeera