After appeal, IDF releases ex-chief of staff Halevi’s Oct. 7 schedule

For the first time, the IDF releases former chief of staff Herzi Halevi’s schedule, revealing meetings held on October 7, 2023, following Hamas’s attack.

The release follows a Freedom of Information petition by the nonprofit Hatzlacha – For the Advancement of a Fair Society, after the army failed to respond to the request for over a year.

The petition, filed in February 2024, requested Halevi’s administrative diary from October 2023 onward. Despite repeated inquiries, the IDF remained silent for months and only issued a partial response at the court’s final deadline, providing entries for the last three months of 2023.

The schedule omits any mention of meetings with journalists, despite the petition’s explicit request.

The IDF claims that not everything was documented due to the initial shock of Hamas’s onslaught.

According to the schedule, Halevi’s first meeting on October 7 was at 7 a.m., half an hour after Hamas’s initial attack, for a situational assessment. He only met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 9:45 a.m.

In addition, Halevi held a security briefing on the evening of October 5, just 36 hours before the beginning of the war, on the IDF’s war preparedness.

This marks the first known instance of an IDF chief of staff’s diary being disclosed under Israel’s Freedom of Information Law.

The Tel Aviv District Court criticized the state’s conduct during the delay.

In response to such criticisms, the IDF says, “In light of the numerous security challenges and the complex operational reality, an extended period of time was required to formulate a response to the request, which demanded the attention of professional bodies, including information security officials.”