Former IDF chief addressed residents of southern moshav on IDF shortcomings, Doha strike

Halevi gave a presentation to Israeli residents in the moshav, discussing Israel's strike on Qatar and the aftermath of October 7.

Former IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi spoke on Tuesday night to residents of Ein Habesor, a moshav in southern Israel that was heavily impacted by the October 7 massacre, Israeli media reported.

Halevi addressed Israel’s strike on Doha, Qatar, that took place earlier in the day, which targeted high-ranking Hamas officials.

While it is yet unclear how successful the strike was against the orchestrators of the October 7 attacks, Halevi regarded it as “a very complex decision by political and military leadership,” according to Ynet. While he stated that he had no involvement in that decision, he asserted that “we must be very determined in this war after what happened on October 7."

Halevi took accountability

Halevi acknowledged defense failures that led to the October 7 attacks. "I was the commander of the IDF that day - the responsibility is mine,” he told the residents.

He claimed that the threat of Hamas was underestimated, red flags were ignored, and that “the enemy managed to surprise us not only on October 7 but also in the capabilities it had built," clarifying that the comprehensive nature of the assault was as shocking as the timing was.

Regarding his time as the Chief of Staff before his resignation, Halevi shared that the “hardest decisions I had to make were about hostage rescue operations,” assuring the moshav residents that the top priority in the aftermath of his failures was the hostages' conditions. “We are responsible for the fact that they are there, and we need to be responsible for bringing them back."

Halevi wrapped up the meeting with a powerful declaration that he and that the current IDF Chief of Staff, Eyal Zamir, are determined to learn from the mistakes that led to October 7 and to “respect every question and understand every frustration and anger,” in pursuit of unity for the people of Ein Habesor and for the State of Israel.