Bezalel Smotrich admits ignorance of Hamas' Nukhba Unit before October 7

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich admitted during a National Education Conference with Makor Rishon on Thursday that he was unaware of the Nukhba forces’ existence prior to October 7.

“There is a serious problem with the relationship between the military and the government; the government is constantly kept out of the loop,” Smotrich stated.

He elaborated, saying, “I didn't know there was such a thing as Nukhba before October 7, and I'm someone who always reads security cabinet materials - I didn’t know a quarter of the infrastructure that exists in Lebanon for the Radwan force.” Smotrich further criticized the IDF, alleging “enormous information gaps” and “disobedience from the senior command in the IDF to the political echelon not once, not twice, and not three times.”

The comments have drawn significant backlash online, with Israelis expressing disappointment and calling the admission “embarrassing” for a member of Israel’s Defense Ministry. Critics noted that Nukhba forces had been publicized in IDF materials as early as 2016 and even featured prominently in the third season of the popular Israeli show Fauda in 2020.

In the wake of the episode, Fauda’s creators described the Nukhba forces as Hamas’s elite unit, tasked with “deep strikes within Israeli territory, taking over military posts, and kidnapping soldiers.” Social media erupted with mockery, with one user sarcastically commenting, “What a weird way of saying you’ve never seen Fauda. Every 14-year-old knew about Nukhba.”

* The Jerusalem Post contributed to this article.