Warning, Halevi and the failure: How they run from the real question | Idan Marash

Idan Marash argues that the public debate over an external warning to Netanyahu distracts from the real question: how Israeli intelligence failed to identify the October 7 attack. He calls for a comprehensive investigation of all levels, without political narratives.

Idan Marash argues that the public debate surrounding the Haaretz report about an alleged warning call Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received from UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed is a distraction. The bureau denied it, the US did not recognize such a warning, and the UAE officially denied it. Marash asserts that even if there was an external warning, the central failure is internal: the Israeli intelligence system, with all its capabilities, did not identify Hamas's intention. He cites a documented meeting between a bereaved mother and former head of Military Intelligence Aharon Halevi, where she confronted him that her daughter is buried because of him. Marash calls for a comprehensive investigation of all levels—political, military, and intelligence—without political narratives, and warns against attempts to turn the disaster into a simple story of one-sided blame.