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Former Israeli army chief 'praises' Hamas for surprise Oct. 7 operation

Sunday, 16 March 2025 6:42 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 16 March 2025 6:43 PM ]

The file photo shows former Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi with the regime's top military commanders.

Former Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi has acknowledged the capabilities of Hamas for catching Israel off guard in its unprecedented surprise attack deep within the occupied territories on October 7, 2023.

In a recording aired by Israel's Army Radio on Sunday, Halevi couldn't conceal failures the regime suffered during the historic al-Aqsa Storm Operation.

He said Hamas dogged Israeli forces and bypassed all Israeli military barriers.

"I have no choice but to praise Hamas for the deception it perpetrated on us,” the former army chief said.

"In all the military exercises we've done and in all the discussions we had, we didn't think that 5% of what happened (that day) could happen," Halevi added.

"They used disturbances and humanitarian concerns to lull us to sleep and prepare the attack - and they succeeded," he noted.

Halevi quit his post on March 6 and took responsibility for the attack, in which hundreds of Israelis, mostly soldiers, were killed and over 250 others taken captive.

The Israeli army launched a brutal military offensive following the Hamas attack in Gaza, killing more than 48,500 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Israel admits ‘complete failure’ to prevent Hamas October 7 operation

The Israeli military has admitted that it has “completely failed” to prevent Hamas’s October 7 retaliatory operation and underestimated the Palestinian resistance group’s capabilities for years.

In his resignation letter released in January, Halevi said he was leaving in keeping with his promise to take responsibility for the failure of the military, under his command, that allowed Hamas to carry out the attack.

Shortly after, Major General Yaron Finkelman, the head of Israeli military operations in Gaza, also announced his resignation.

Israel’s former minister of military affairs and opposition leader Avigdor Lieberman has called on prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the rest of the cabinet ministers "to take responsibility and follow in the footsteps of Halevi."

The resignations came after Israel was forced to agree to a ceasefire, accepting Hamas' longstanding negotiation terms. The ceasefire went into effect on January 19.

The Israeli regime approved the deal after coming under monumental pressure from the families of the captives and due to consecutive failures in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former war minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.

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