Former Israeli intelligence chief labels war a ” major strategic failure” despite military gains

A former senior Israeli intelligence officer has described the war as a major strategic failure, saying Hamas remains intact despite what he called Israel’s “exceptional operational achievements”. 

Brigadier General (Res.) Dror Shalom, former head of the Research Division at Israeli Military Intelligence (Aman) and former head of the Political-Military Bureau at the Israeli Ministry of Defence, said the war represented “a resounding failure at the strategic level”.

Shalom made the remarks during a conference organised by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and Yedioth Ahronoth, in his first public interview since leaving military service. He criticised Israel’s handling of the fighting on multiple fronts.

He said Israel had achieved significant military gains, “but at the strategic level there is a clear failure on all fronts”. He added: “Hamas still exists, Hezbollah is far from being disarmed, and Iran is negotiating with the Americans over the Strait of Hormuz rather than its nuclear programme.”

Shalom said Israel had so far failed to secure a strategic victory.

“There have been exceptional achievements, and they speak for themselves, but strategically we are not succeeding in achieving a decisive outcome across the different fronts,” he said.

READ: Israeli cabinet approves deployment of International Stabilization Force in Gaza