Amos Harel on the Anatomy of a Failure - how October 7 happened

This week, Yonit and Jonathan sit down with acclaimed military and intelligence analyst Amos Harel to discuss his new book 6:29 -Anatomy of a Failure — a devastating, meticulously reported account of October 7th and the collapse that preceded it. Drawing on internal investigations, intelligence materials, battlefield testimony and conversations with senior officials, Harel reconstructs how Israel failed at every level: intelligence, operations - and strategy.

They discuss the “Walls of Jericho” Hamas attack plan that Israeli intelligence possessed years in advance; the SIM card warnings and the signs missed in the final hours before the massacre; the operational chaos that left communities abandoned for hours; and why Harel believes October 7th could likely have been prevented.

The conversation also examines Benjamin Netanyahu’s role in the years leading up to the attack: the Qatar cash pipeline to Hamas, the belief that the Palestinian conflict could be indefinitely “managed,” the judicial overhaul crisis, and the refusal — still now — to establish a state commission of inquiry.

Plus: why Hezbollah’s hesitation on October 7th may have prevented an even greater catastrophe, whether Israel has actually learned the lessons of that day, and why Harel believes the battle over the public memory of October 7th may define Israel’s coming elections.

NOTE: Amos Harel's Book, 6:29 - Anatomy of a Failure, will be published in English Later this year.

⏱ CHAPTERS:

[00:00] 6:29 — anatomy of a failure

[06:55] The Intelligence Failures Leading to October 7th

[21:05] “Where Was the Army?” — The Operational Collapse

[32:10] Netanyahu, Qatar, and the Strategic Failure Before the War

[41:40] Hezbollah, Iran, and the Attack That Could Have Been Bigger

[45:25] Can Israel Prevent Another October 7th?

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