Posted on 11/02/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
Maj. Gen. Itzhak Brik, who warned against the failings that led to the current war, spoke with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News to analyze the course of the war so far.
"I'm satisfied, but also worried," begins Brik. "I want to say that definitely in the three weeks since we were attacked, the IDF should have organized itself to be able to deal with Hamas and Islamic Jihad inside Gaza. Only three weeks, because the previous commanders thinned out the plans they had in front of them."
Brik explains what he means. "There was a time when the Southern Command was focused on the right goal, and that was when Eyal Zamir, who currently serves as Director General of the Ministry of Defense, was the commander of the Southern Command. He built a plan that was thought out from all directions with special means to deal with tunnel shafts, with soldiers who train and practice everything. But the commanders who came after him decided that such a war would probably not happen. Because in their opinion Hamas was deterred and there was no point in entering the Gaza Strip. They scaled back the plans and training for the activation of the special measures, some of which disappeared. This is the situation the IDF was in on the eve of the attack from the Gaza Strip."
He says that to his delight, his assessment that the internal disputes would harm the motivation to enlist in the reserves during wartime was wrong. "In the past three weeks, hundreds of thousands of soldiers were recruited, and I admit that I was wrong on this issue. We see tremendous motivation, fighting spirit, belief in the righteousness of the path that accompanies the people, love of the homeland, the value of service, the understanding that we have no other country, giving to the country, and taking risks for the family and society as a whole. The people of Israel united after a year of chaos - and this shows tremendous resilience."
"I estimated that the motivation for combat service would decrease further after it had decreased in recent years by 15%. All the signs showed that, in the chaotic situation we were in, we would not receive all the strength that I see now. Therefore, I am glad that I was wrong in this matter," adds Brik.
Alongside the high motivation, he also recognizes proper preparation. "You see that the army has succeeded in improving its equipment and massively training all the units that have not trained for years. In the process, it is also plotting a new course. I am not familiar with the new plans, but I also told the Prime Minister that we must not go in blind. That is, not to rush the army deep into Gaza, without doing it with much intelligence. In the first stage, it was necessary to suffocate them and surround them, and that's what the army did. Now we need to continue bombing and make sure that fuel does not arrive and they come out of the tunnels and weaken, and then we will cripple them. We must not bring a lot of forces in, but rather hit their weak points.”