Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday morning that he was not informed in real time about the warning signs ahead of the October 7th massacre, offering a rare look into the decision-making failures at the highest levels.
In an interview with Channel 12, Gallant described what he called a critical breakdown on the night of the invasion. “They did not alert the defense minister," he said. “They did not think the intelligence was important, and because of that they did not alert me."
According to Gallant, that lack of communication had operational consequences. “If I had been updated," he said, “I would have asked 'Let’s assume the assessment is not correct, what are the active measures on the ground?'"
He stressed that without early deployment based on intelligence warnings, even senior commanders have limited ability to respond once events are underway. “When forces are not pre-positioned, the Chief of Staff and the division commander have very limited ability to influence events in real time."
At the same time, Gallant pushed back against claims that political leaders were simply passive recipients of partial information. He described a personal effort to independently assess the situation just days before the attack. “Ten days before October 7, during Sukkot, I decided to travel to the Gaza Strip region," he said. “They told me that the chief of staff and the division commander could not accompany me. I said, whoever is there should come. I stood and looked beyond the fence and asked, what’s happening?"
He said he urged troops on the ground not to rely exclusively on intelligence assessments. “I told them: look through binoculars, see what’s happening in the west, be vigilant," Gallant recalled.
Despite his criticism of the system, Gallant acknowledged his own responsibility and called for a state commission of inquiry. “There are ten ranks below the defense minister. To say ‘they didn’t tell me’ - that’s shifting the responsibility downward. Hamas began to grow stronger a decade ago. Everyone who held a senior position in those years must come and explain."