Former minister Yoaz Hendel said Saturday evening that on the morning of October 7, 2023, he believed Israel was facing a terrorist infiltration, not an existential threat to the state. Hendel made the remarks in an interview with Channel 14, reflecting on his mindset during the early hours of the Hamas massacre.
Former minister Yoaz Hendel, a former Shayetet 13 commando and historian, offered a personal account of his mindset during the early hours of the October 7, 2023, massacre. In an interview with Channel 14 on Saturday evening, Hendel said he perceived the initial reports as a large-scale terrorist infiltration rather than a strategic threat to the state's existence. 'I thought there was a terrorist infiltration, I didn't think for a moment that the State of Israel was in existential danger,' he said.
Hendel's remarks come amid a broader public reckoning with the security and intelligence failures that enabled the Hamas attack. He has been an outspoken critic of the government's conduct of the war. Earlier Saturday, The Zioneer reported that Hendel described a 'huge gap' between the government's declarations of total victory and the actual results on the ground, stating that the war is at a 'stop line' rather than concluded.
The former communications minister has positioned himself as a voice for the 'serving majority' and recently formed a political alliance with former minister Hili Tropper, aiming to create a new political home for reservists and those bearing the burden of national service. His latest reflection adds to a growing body of statements by former security officials and politicians examining the events of October 7 and their aftermath.
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