PM’s office publishes excerpt from next Shin Bet chief’s March 2023 report on IDF readiness for shock enemy raid

After Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced last night that he was appointing IDF Maj. Gen. David Zini as Shin Bet chief, the Prime Minister’s Office publishes an excerpt from Zini’s March 2023 report on the IDF Gaza Division’s readiness for a “complex surprise event.”

The PMO explains that Zini was tasked with writing the report for the Gaza Division to examine its readiness for a “surprise raid” and identify weak areas.

It says Zini’s report “found various deficiencies in the preparations for such an event.”

Parts of the excerpt appear to have been redacted.

“In almost every sector, a surprise raid can be carried out on our forces in such a way that the rule of ‘surprised but not overwhelmed’ does not apply,” it reads. “There are many courses of action for carrying out a surprise raid on our forces.

Zini writes here that he believes an above-ground attack is the “most plausible and easiest” way in which Israel’s enemies could launch a shock raid.

“Everyone talks about the headline ‘surprise raid’ or ‘complex surprise incident,’ but when the threat is laid out in detail, the understanding and implementation is ‘hollow,’ or non-existent,” continues the report, adding that the military has not considered all possible scenarios and is thus “lacking” in its preparations.

“In the absence of detailed scenarios, the forces do not know what to look for and what to prepare for,” Zini writes, identifying this as the most significant weak point of the IDF’s readiness.

Zini is expected to replace outgoing Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar when he steps down on June 15. However, government watchdogs have said they will petition the High Court of Justice against his appointment, arguing that the premier has a conflict of interest.