Approximately a year before the Hamas surprise attack on October 7th, IDF Southern Command Commanding Officer Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano held a classified meeting during which he warned that Israel would have to launch a preemptive strike.
According to a report by Kan reporter Avishai Grinzaig, the meeting was held amid the discovery of plans for a widespread attack by Hamas titled "Walls of Jericho," which aimed to infiltrate Israel in several locations at once, along with the significant military strengthening of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
General Toledano noted during that same meeting that "since war has a price, as long as we keep the significant military advantage, we will strive to delay the next war. But as time goes on and the enemy progresses, there is a point where we will have to launch a preemptive strike. The Southern Command must set that point and recommend based on it."
He further noted that Hamas' premise is that Israel is not interested in conquering the Gaza Strip. As far as Hamas is concerned, the IDF assumes "a tie is a victory," that is, "as long as the organization survives and continues to control the Gaza Strip."
Grinzaig wrote in a post to X: "The questions that must be asked was the information passed on to then-Defense Minister Gantz and then-Prime Minister Lapid? Was the information passed after that to Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant? What did each one do about it?"
He wondered further: "Did the cabinet even meet to discuss the threat and the need for a preemptive strike? Quite a few people will need to give explanations."