Yoav Gallant broke his silence on the intelligence failures that preceded the Hamas assault, confirming that a specific warning reached Israeli security agencies weeks before the October 7, 2023 attack. Speaking to Army Radio on Sunday, the former defence minister detailed how a channel involving the Shin Bet, Israel’s internal security agency, relayed a message from Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The intelligence was explicit: Sinwar promised to 'shake the prisons.'
The Shin Bet and Military Intelligence Directorate assessed the threat as linked to the kidnapping of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a former Israeli politician held in Gaza. But the warning did not trigger a preventive operation. Instead, it was absorbed into a broader, flawed assessment of the situation that failed to anticipate the scale of the cross-border raid that killed over 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Gallant’s remarks extend beyond the security breach, launching a personal attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership during the war. Gallant alleged he was systematically excluded from sensitive negotiations with Washington, learning about key discussions on hostages and ammunition only after US officials called him for verification. 'Their trust in the prime minister was low,' Gallant said, pointing to a fractured command structure that arguably prolonged the conflict. He was dismissed by Netanyahu in November 2024, with the Prime Minister citing a 'crisis of trust' over their opposing strategies: Gallant wanted a hostage deal; Netanyahu wanted continued military pressure.
This disclosure lands just weeks before a pivotal moment in Israeli politics. The Knesset is set to go to the polls on October 27, 2026, the first time in nearly four decades that a parliament has completed its full term. The campaign will likely pivot heavily on accountability for October 7, with Gallant’s testimony providing ammunition for opposition parties arguing that the government’s intelligence apparatus was not just negligent, but willfully ignored. The next major test will be the official inquiry into the day’s events, where these newly publicized details will be scrutinized.