Was Israel ready for war? The story that raises hard questions about what happened before October 7 | Avi Ashkenazi
The article examines responsibility for the October 7 failure, focusing on Netanyahu's claims he received no warnings versus the alerts given to the political echelon. An interview with Israel Aerospace Industries Chairman Boaz Levy reveals the lack of preparedness and missing IDF stockpiles at the outbreak of war. The article links this to rot in the public sector and criticizes the Prime Minister's conduct.
Avi Ashkenazi's article in Maariv addresses the question of Israel's readiness for war before October 7, 2023, focusing on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims that he received no warnings. The article presents the words of former Defense Minister Gallant, who noted that the political echelon received warnings and alerts directly from Egypt and the UAE before the attack, and that he heard about this from the media. Gallant defined the failure to pass information to the security establishment as 'a very serious flaw in the overall assessment of the situation.' The article interviews Israel Aerospace Industries Chairman Boaz Levy, who describes the morning of October 7: he was at home during the Sukkot holiday, a week after returning from Germany after signing the Arrow 3 deal. According to him, within two and a half hours of the outbreak of events, IAI was already open for work, but it was clear that stockpiles were insufficient. Production lines were built according to defined requirements, but the war demanded a sharp change in pace. Levy describes Israeli creativity, including purchasing tools at Home Depot to set up improvised lines. The article links the lack of preparedness to rot in the public sector, mentioning the case of the Ayalon Highways chairman who falsified his resume. The conclusion: Netanyahu bears overall responsibility as leader, and the article questions the ability to organize for the next campaign.