Israeli defense minister takes responsibility for failure to stop terror attack

SDEROT, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 19: Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant meets soldiers on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip on October 19, 2023 in Sderot, Israel. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he is taking responsibility for the surprise terror attack by Hamas in which hundreds of Israelis were massacred on October 7. 

“I am responsible for the defense establishment. I was responsible for it in the last two weeks, even in the difficult incidents, and I am responsible for bringing it to victory in the battle,” Gallant told reporters Thursday.

“We will be precise and deadly and we will continue until we complete the mission,” Gallant said.

Israel was caught off guard on October 7 when hundreds of Hamas terrorists infiltrated the country by land, sea and air, ravaging communities near the border with Gaza and raping, torturing and killing civilians both young and old. 

The New York Times reported that Israeli intelligence had detected a surge of activity on some of the Gaza terrorist networks it monitors in the hours before the attack. But for reasons unknown, Israeli soldiers on the Gaza border did not respond to an alert.

Hamas then used drones to take out Israeli communications and surveillance, which allowed terrorists to breach the border fence. Thousands of Palestinians rushed through the border and committed atrocities in more than 20 Israeli towns and army bases in what was the worst terror attack in the nation's 75-year history.