- A reserve ‘Israeli’ brigadier general said the military launched the assault on Gaza without any viable operational plans, forcing field commanders to improvise strategies.
- The officer specifically criticized years of “severe neglect and a lack of operational planning” under previous Southern Command leadership, saying pre-existing contingency plans proved irrelevant.
In a closed-door conference attended by top ‘Israeli’ military brass, a reserve brigadier general said that the military launched into the assault against Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023 without any viable operational plans.
The officer, who has been serving in the command’s firepower division since the assault began, told YNET that the lack of preparation forced field commanders to improvise strategies during the initial weeks of fighting.
The brigadier general pointed to years of neglect under previous leadership.
He specifically criticized Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, who commanded the Southern Command from March 2021 to July 2023, for fostering an environment of “severe neglect and a lack of operational planning.”
Despite a banner at headquarters proclaiming “Victory loves preparation,” the officer alleged that the opposite occurred, leaving no actionable playbook for a full-scale engagement with Hamas.
During the same event, attended by the ‘Israeli’ military chief Eyal Zamir, who assumed the role in March 2025, and other senior officers, discussions revealed that pre-existing contingency plans, such as the ones aimed at Hamas’ underground networks, proved irrelevant once hostilities erupted.
Officers admitted that new plans had to be developed from scratch in the first three weeks before ‘Israel’s’ ground invasion of Gaza.
Internal investigations into Oct. 7 have previously uncovered chaos in the General Staff during the initial hours, including delayed decision-making and communication breakdowns.
