Armored brigade commander: "I fear an event on the scale of October 7"

Colonel Shaul Israeli, commander of the 7th Brigade, gave an interview marking three years since October 7 and expressed concern about a similar event. He called for lessons to be learned, humility to be maintained, and force-building to be accelerated, while addressing the drone threat and the IDF's manpower shortage.

Colonel Shaul Israeli, commander of the 7th Armored Brigade, was interviewed this morning on Kan News to mark three years since October 7. Israeli expressed fear of an event of a similar magnitude, emphasizing that commanders must learn from the Yom Kippur War and the Black Sabbath, seek blind spots, and prepare for surprises. He described the initial reports from the morning the war broke out, when he served as head of the Ground Forces Planning Department, and the mistaken assessment that it was a localized incident. Israeli noted that learning during combat was the key change that allowed forces to improve and prevail in battles. He defined the decision in Gaza and Lebanon as tactical and clear, and referred to the drone threat as an ongoing challenge. Regarding the manpower shortage, he called for accelerating force-building and expanding the army, stressing the need for 36 months of mandatory service. When asked about the rift in Israeli society, he mentioned his father, who was captured in Syrian captivity, and the unity that characterized his fellow captives.