A Golani Brigade soldier has revealed that Israeli troops near Gaza were ordered to stand down from routine patrols on October 7, fueling suspicions that the Israeli leadership may have had foreknowledge of the Hamas operation.
Israeli soldier Shalom Sheetrit, who was stationed at the Pega military outpost near Kibbutz Be’eri, testified about unusual orders he received on the morning of the 7 October Hamas operation. He said he and his fellow troops were instructed not to conduct their daily border patrol along the Gaza fence.
“We were playing on the phone [at 5:20 am] and suddenly a strange message comes from my battalion commander,” Sheetrit said, the Cradle reported, citing Israeli media outlets. “And what he says on the call is something like this: ‘I don’t know why, but an order was issued that there are no patrols at the fence until nine in the morning.’”
The Hamas operation, dubbed Al-Aqsa Storm, targeted multiple Israeli military posts, including the Pega outpost, where 14 soldiers were killed.
When asked if the order contributed to the vulnerability of soldiers, many of whom were reportedly still asleep, Sheetrit said he could not confirm, adding: “I don’t want to just say that.” He admitted that their unit failed to defend Kibbutz Be’eri, where over 100 Israelis died in what became one of the deadliest battles.
Following the operation, Israeli forces launched heavy airstrikes, including attacks by Apache helicopters and drones. These strikes, reportedly in line with the Hannibal Directive, aimed to prevent Hamas from abducting hostages but led to the deaths of both Israeli settlers and militants.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in the Israeli-occupied territories during the Hamas offensive, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Critics argue that these actions — alongside prior intelligence warnings reportedly ignored by senior officials — suggest a deliberate failure to prevent the operation.
The soldier’s comments add to other related evidence, including the one in which border observers had repeatedly alerted commanders to unusual Hamas activity in the days and hours leading up to the attack. Weeks before the 7 October Hamas attack, female Israeli surveillance soldiers monitoring Gaza submitted a detailed warning report describing Hamas training to “blow up border posts at several locations, enter Israeli territory, and take over kibbutzim.”
According to two sources cited by the Financial Times in November 2023, the report, sent to the top intelligence officer in Israel’s southern command, also noted that Hamas appeared to be rehearsing the capture of hostages. However, a senior Israeli officer dismissed the alert, saying: “This is an imaginary scenario.” No preventive action followed.
The Times of Israel also reported that such warnings had been ignored for months, while Egyptian intelligence had similarly warned Tel Aviv ahead of the attack — warnings that were likewise overlooked.
Israeli forces invaded the besieged Gaza Strip following the Hamas operation, killing at least 60,249 Palestinians and wounding more than 147,000 others up to now. Most of the victims are women and children, as indiscriminate Israeli attacks target schools, mosques, and even tents that shelter displaced Palestinians.
The regime has been condemned for ethnic cleansing in Gaza as it continues to push to dis.place people to other regions. U.S. President Donald Trump has also supported the bid, naming countries such as Egypt and Jordan as possible destinations for some 2.2 million Gaza residents. Trump has openly expressed his desire to transform Gaza into what he refers to as the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
