{"id":2967,"date":"2026-06-05T12:09:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/israelagora.com.br\/en\/?page_id=2967"},"modified":"2026-06-05T12:09:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T12:09:17","slug":"o-mecanismo-que-deixou-as-forcas-de-defesa-de-israel-adormecidas-em-7-de-outubro","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/israelagora.com.br\/en\/?page_id=2967","title":{"rendered":"The mechanism that left the israel defense forces asleep on october 7"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Halevi with Basiuk, Finkelman and Feldman. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
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\r\n\t#October 7th<\/a><\/p>

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\r\n\tOn October 7, 2023, in the early hours of the morning, a mechanism created by the then chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Herzi Halevi, influenced decisions that left the military system unprepared for Hamas’ surprise attack<\/strong><\/p>

This method, developed throughout Halevi’s career, had the main objective of protecting sensitive intelligence sources so as not to “burn” them.<\/p>

\r\nHowever, on that fateful night, he contributed to the Army acting with excessive caution and not reacting with the necessary urgency.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nHalevi, with his vast experience in intelligence, has always prioritized the preservation of sources.<\/p>

\r\nHe had commanded sensitive operations, including in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit, and understood the high cost of building and maintaining covert access for enemies like Hezbollah and Hamas.<\/p>

\r\nFor him, knowledge was power, and exposing sources prematurely could compromise future advantages.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe night before the attack, suspicious signals began arriving: activation of SIM cards linked to terrorists from Hamas’s elite Nukhba unit.<\/p>

\r\nAt around 3:20 a.m., Halevi’s chief of staff woke him up.<\/p>

\r\nThe initial intelligence assessment was reassuring: everything indicated that Hamas was in routine mode.<\/p>

\r\nHalevi, however, did not go back to sleep.<\/p>

\r\nHe asked to speak to Southern region commander Yaron Finkelman and made notes: “Don’t think this is anything.” He was especially concerned about possible infiltrations from the sea at Zikim beach and about a Hamas offensive tunnel that penetrated Israeli territory.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nDuring the conversation, which lasted about half an hour, the officers analyzed the evidence.<\/p>

\r\nIt was decided to discreetly reinforce some positions, without fanfare, so as not to alert the enemy and preserve the sources.<\/p>

\r\nHalevi approved the sending of an extra drone, reinforcements on the beach and in the tunnel, and advised: “If something happens, it will be in the morning.<\/p>

\r\nWelcome the morning with strength.” However, the general tone of the guidance was one of extreme caution: avoid any visible movement that could “expose” intelligence sources, such as monitored SIM cards.<\/p>

\r\nThis approach reflected a long-standing dilemma in military intelligence.<\/p>

\r\nPreserving sources is crucial, but using them too narrowly can cost lives.<\/p>

\r\nHistorical examples, such as the Enigma case in World War II or failures in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, show how fear of losing sources can delay vital alerts.<\/p>

\r\nHalevi, who developed a “mechanism” to manage this – mediating information in a partial and controlled way – applied this logic that night.<\/p>

\r\nThe result was that orders for reinforcements were not fully carried out, and the system remained in low visibility mode.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThe article reveals that Hamas was a difficult target for intelligence, unlike Hezbollah.<\/p>

\r\nEven with risky efforts approved by Halevi, penetration into the Palestinian group was limited.<\/p>

\r\nSIM cards represented a valuable and expensive resource, built over years, and no one wanted to lose it easily.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nIn retrospect, factors such as misconceptions about Hamas, political instructions to remain calm, and Halevi’s own culture of caution contributed to the tragedy.<\/p>

\r\nSpecific orders from the Chief of Staff were not fully executed, and the morning came with the mass invasion that no one imagined on its full scale.\r\n<\/p>

\r\nThis story, based on investigations and reports from inside sources, highlights how the delicate balance between protecting secrets and acting decisively can, at critical moments, make all the difference.<\/p>

\r\nThe mechanism that Halevi perfected to preserve intelligence advantages ended up, that morning, putting the system that should have been on high alert to sleep.

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Published in 06\/05\/2026 12h09<\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Portuguese version<\/a><\/em><\/p>\r\n

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Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.<\/p>\r\n\t\t

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Reference article:<\/p>\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\r\n\r\n