‘The IDF failed miserably’: Three years after Oct. 7, Israel prepares for the surprise war it never saw coming

As Israel marks three years since the October 7 massacre, the IDF is undertaking a sweeping overhaul shaped by the failures of that day — expanding its forces and preparing for a surprise war on multiple fronts, even without advance warning.

The fundamental shift is stark: Israel will prepare for what its enemies are capable of doing, not what intelligence believes they intend to do. Readiness and reserve forces have more than doubled, while border defenses, intelligence, firepower and commanders’ freedom to act are being strengthened.

“On October 7, the IDF failed miserably,” Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir acknowledged. Paying tribute to those killed during and since the massacre, he said: “It is our duty to investigate and ensure that the lessons are implemented so that we may be more worthy of the trust the people have placed in us.”

The IDF will now treat a surprise war as its reference scenario, while encouraging officers to challenge assumptions and ensuring critical warnings are never again dismissed or suppressed.

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