Former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot said Friday that he bears some responsibility for Israel's preparedness ahead of the October 7 massacre, despite having left his military post five years before the Hamas attack occurred. Speaking publicly about the issue, Eisenkot identified specific decisions he now regrets, particularly regarding the placement of military installations near the Gaza border fence.
"The event happened five years after I left, and even so I asked myself what could I have done better?" Eisenkot said. He acknowledged shortcomings in defensive planning, noting that "I could have done better when I thought about our defensive posture, even though all the bases were built before my time, they're located right on the border line."
Eisenkot singled out the positioning of a division headquarters as a particular error. "The division headquarters is 900 meters from the fence, that's a mistake," he said. "And I can ask myself whether I could have seen this as a mistake and moved it back. My answer is yes."
When asked whether he could have authorized more special operations during his tenure as chief of staff, Eisenkot defended his record. "I say with full responsibility that the number of special operations carried out during my period in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iran and many other places in the Middle East were unprecedented," he stated.
Eisenkot also addressed the possibility of further Israeli action against Iran and the relationship between the military and political leadership. He emphasized that as long as Israel has an elected government, the IDF is obligated to follow its decisions.
