Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi apologized to four recently released female hostage soldiers for failing to take his warnings seriously ahead of the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, 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 about 15 months. Daniella Gilboa was not present at the meeting.
“It was a mistake not to have taken them seriously, they were incredible soldiers, I apologize for what they experienced in captivity”, Halevi told the soldiers, according to various sources.
In the months leading up to the Hamas attack, female soldiers on surveillance reported signs of suspicious activity along the Gaza border. Senior officers who received the reports took no action, and intelligence officials dismissed the information as unimportant.
During the meeting, the four female soldiers told Halevi what they experienced during their captivity at the hands of Hamas, as well as what happened during the massacre on October 7, when they were kidnapped.
Halevi told the four that they had excelled in their role as observers and had correctly warned of what could happen. The chief of staff also told them that the military would thoroughly investigate what happened on October 7 and that they should “be partners in the investigation” by providing testimony.
The five freed female soldiers were among seven women kidnapped 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 kidnapped guards, Ori Megidish, was rescued alive weeks after the attack, and the body of another, Noa Marciano, was recovered after she was killed in captivity.
These girls warned what could happen, and they were ignored. And the Mossad, which knows everything about the Middle East? It's all very strange, just as many of us imagine.