Shin Bet Chief Warns, 'The Next October 7 Will Happen in Eilat'

Shin Bet Director David Zini has issued an explicit and stark warning in closed security discussions in recent weeks, telling senior officials that "the next October 7 will happen in Eilat," according to a report Monday in Haaretz citing multiple security sources.

According to the sources, Zini has instructed senior figures in the organization to place an extreme scenario of a large-scale attack on the southern city at the top of the Shin Bet's intelligence and operational priorities.

Zini regards Eilat as a critical and central security vulnerability for Israel, primarily because of its geographic isolation and its significant distance from major security force concentrations and bases.

In internal Shin Bet discussions, as well as in broader security forums outside the service, Zini has warned of an organized ground invasion into the city from its land borders. The primary threat he has identified comes from the direction of the Jordanian border, which is considered relatively long and porous. Alongside that threat, the Shin Bet director emphasized that there is a genuine possibility of an attempted infiltration and invasion through Eilat's maritime borders in the Gulf of Aqaba.

In response to the report, the Shin Bet issued a statement: "Several months ago, as part of the process of entering his role and studying the various threats, the Shin Bet director conducted a tour of Eilat, part of which took place in cooperation with the military, and examined various preparedness assessments. We emphasize that there is no concrete intelligence or warning, but rather fundamental operational planning and study of threats across all sectors of the service's work."