Why Wasn’t Israel Prepared for Hamas’s Assault?
The IDF has become much smaller, less disciplined, less well trained, and much too reliant on airstrikes.
October 10, 2023
Why Wasn’t Israel Prepared for Hamas’s Assault?
The IDF has become much smaller, less disciplined, less well trained, and much too reliant on airstrikes.
In addition to the sheer horror, the frantic search for loved ones, and the concern for friends and family members about to don their uniforms and put themselves in harm’s way to defend their country—many Israelis’ initial reaction to the invasion on Saturday involved the question: how did this happen? A tightly controlled border kept Hamas’s forces inside the Gaza Strip, the Iron Dome reduced the danger of rocket attacks, and the terrorist group seemed deterred by the outcome of the many short wars it had fought with Israel over the past fifteen years. How did the IDF, with its vaunted intelligence abilities, its high-tech monitoring systems, and its expertise get caught so terribly off guard?
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