By: Fern Sidman

In a speech that has reverberated across Israel’s security and political establishment, David Zini, the current head of the IDF Training and Drill Command and a leading candidate to head the Israel Security Agency (ISA), delivered a searing critique of the Israeli military’s failures during the October 7 Hamas massacre. Speaking candidly to residents of the Gaza envelope communities—many of whom he joined on the battlefield that fateful day—Zini described the catastrophe as “a crazy failure, greater than the Yom Kippur War,” according to a recently published report on Matzav.com.

Zini’s remarks, reported in depth by Matzav.com, were not couched in diplomatic language or deflective platitudes. Instead, he confronted the IDF’s strategic and operational breakdowns head-on, offering a sobering internal perspective that reflected both personal involvement and institutional insight. His comments come at a time when national trust in Israel’s security apparatus remains deeply shaken.

“It’s not the number of soldiers, but the method of organization in defense,” Zini stated bluntly, according to the report at Matzav.com. “The system was built to respond, not to repel a raid or a large-scale surprise attack. That’s where the decision was made. Our failure was in not identifying the enemy’s method. That is the core of the collapse.”

Zini, who rushed from his home in the Golan Heights to join the fight on October 7, recounted the structural flaws that left Israel vulnerable to one of the deadliest attacks in its modern history. As the Matzav.com report emphasized, Zini’s candor reflects a growing consensus among senior IDF figures that the country’s security doctrine must undergo a fundamental transformation.

Addressing the widespread public disbelief that the nation’s formidable military and intelligence network failed to detect Hamas’s massive coordinated assault, Zini offered an explanation grounded in institutional dysfunction rather than conspiracy. “People ask, ‘How could this happen?’ Was this neglect? I understand the question,” he said, as quoted by Matzav.com. “We’re an army with world-class intelligence. How did we not see what everyone else saw?”

He added, “The easy answer — that a few people deliberately ignored the signs — isn’t the full picture. Failure doesn’t need malice. It can come from systemic blindness. An army must know how to detect even those who are trying to hide — and we failed in that basic military duty.”

Zini’s assessment, as reported by Matzav.com, also highlighted a critical doctrinal flaw: the IDF’s preference for deterrence and warning systems over proactive engagement. “We allowed the enemy to entrench itself along our fence. We prioritized quiet over preemptive action,” he stated. “There are times when a state must launch a preventive war to eliminate a threat. We weren’t ready for a wide-scale assault.”

He pointed specifically to the Gaza envelope communities such as Shejaiya and Nahal Oz, where the short distance between enemy territory and Israeli civilian centers left insufficient time for effective alerts or mobilization. This fundamental vulnerability, Zini argued, was never addressed, despite years of warning signs.

Another critical lapse, according to Zini was the Air Force’s delayed response. “When the entire system relies on alerts and pre-designated readiness hours, there’s a massive problem if the threat isn’t prepared for,” he explained. “You can’t just activate planes, bring mechanics, and load bombs in a hurry — and if bases are under fire, it delays everything.”

He added that while some aircraft were airborne by 9:30–10:00 a.m., the initial wave of attack had already inflicted devastating losses, highlighting the costs of the IDF’s reactive posture.

In perhaps the most emotionally charged moment of his speech, Zini delivered a public apology to the nation—a rare and powerful gesture from a top-ranking military officer. “I want to express an apology on behalf of the Israel Defense Forces,” he said. “I don’t believe there are words that can fully capture the depth of the apology we owe to Israeli society for this immense failure.”

As quoted by Matzav.com, Zini concluded with a vow that echoes throughout Israel’s battered but resilient security community: “We are committed to ensuring this never happens again — and to learning and implementing every lesson for years to come.”

Zini’s willingness to confront institutional failure so directly has earned him both praise and scrutiny. But as the Matzav.com report noted, his remarks reflect a broader reckoning underway in Israel—a painful, necessary effort to uncover not just what failed on October 7, but why it failed, and how to ensure that the IDF, the ISA, and the country at large are never caught so disastrously unprepared again.

With his candid analysis and battlefield credibility, David Zini is emerging not just as a front-runner for the ISA’s top post, but as a vital voice in reshaping Israel’s national defense strategy in an era of unprecedented threat.