IDF chief apologizes to freed surveillance soldiers for failing them on and before Oct. 7
Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy, Karina Ariev tell Halevi of attack on Nahal Oz post, 15 months of captivity; chief of staff: ‘It was wrong to have not taken [your warnings] seriously’
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
In a meeting on Friday morning, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologized to four recently released hostage soldiers for their warnings not being treated seriously before the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, as well as for their long captivity.
Halevi met with Agam Berger, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev, who were released from Hamas captivity after some 15 months. The fifth surveillance soldier released from Hamas captivity, Daniella Gilboa, was not present at the meeting.
“It was wrong to have not taken you seriously, you were amazing soldiers, I apologize for what you experienced in captivity,” Halevi said to the soldiers, according to leaked remarks.
For months before Hamas’s onslaught, female surveillance soldiers reported signs of suspicious activity along the Gaza border, situated less than a mile from them. No action was taken by the more senior officers who received the reports, and the information was disregarded as unimportant by intelligence officials.
IDF female surveillance soldiers, referred to in Hebrew as tatzpitaniyot, belong to the Combat Intelligence Collection Array under the Border Defense Corps and operate along the country’s borders, as well as throughout the West Bank.
The surveillance soldiers are referred to by many as “the eyes of the army” as they provide real-time intelligence information to soldiers in the field, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
For weeks before Hamas’s October 7 onslaught — when thousands of terrorists streamed over the border, killed some 1,200 people, the majority of them civilians, and kidnapped some 251 more — surveillance soldiers reported signs of activity along the tumultuous Gaza border.
The soldiers’ reports included information on Hamas operatives conducting training sessions multiple times a day, digging holes and placing explosives along the border. Soldiers believe sexism played a part in the fact that their warnings were not heeded.
During the meeting on Friday, the four soldiers told Halevi what they went through in Hamas captivity, as well as what happened during the October 7 onslaught when they were kidnapped from the Nahal Oz army post.
Halevi told the four that they had excelled in their role as observers and correctly warned of what could happen. He told them they were “amazing and commendable” soldiers.
The chief of staff also told them that the military would fully investigate what happened on October 7, and that they should “be partners in the investigation” by providing testimony.
“I want you to know that the entire IDF worked very hard to bring back the hostages, to return you, it continues to work. Soldiers dreamed of freeing you,” Halevi told the soldiers.
“I know about the very high-quality work of the surveillance soldiers, even those who are unfortunately not with us, who did outstanding work,” he said.
“In the investigations, we looked into the effect of your work on what happened, and there are things we learned that should change.
“From me personally and in the name of the commanders in the IDF, I am very sorry for everything you have been through, it’s our responsibility, and we can’t go back and change. We are very focused on learning so that this will not recur.
“From what you have told me now, I understand that you, with superior heroism, have dealt with unimaginable difficulty, both during captivity and in the way you were during the release,” Halevi added.
The five released hostage soldiers were among seven female troops abducted from the Nahal Oz base during the Hamas-led massacre. Levy, Ariev, Albag and Gilboa were released on January 25 and Berger was released five days later.
One of the abducted surveillance soldiers, Ori Megidish, was rescued alive weeks after the onslaught, and the body of another, Noa Marciano, was recovered after she was murdered in captivity.
Fifteen surveillance soldiers were killed out of a total of 52 troops killed at the base on the day.
Separately on Friday, Halevi met with relatives of a soldier killed in November alongside a civilian archaeologist who was brought into southern Lebanon without official authorization.
The IDF chief took responsibility for the incident in which Sgt. Gur Kehati was killed in the meeting.
Halevi will resign from the military on March 5 over the military’s failure to prevent Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
