As Israel approaches the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre, debate continues over the security establishment’s performance during the attack, with senior former officials still publicly disagreeing over what went wrong and what must change.

Adding his voice to the discussion, former Israeli Air Force commander Maj. Gen. (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu argued that the military branch specifically designed for rapid emergency response failed to be available during the crucial opening hours of the assault. He said the Air Force’s foremost lesson from the attack should be to maintain forces on constant standby that can be deployed within 30 minutes, even when facing a surprise offensive.

According to Israeli journalist Gideon Alon, Ben Eliyahu made the remarks Friday while addressing the Commercial and Industrial Club during a lecture at the Hilton Hotel in Tel Aviv.

During his speech, Ben Eliyahu said, “the Air Force was built in a way that it could respond quickly, but on the morning of October 7th, it didn’t happen.”

He also stressed the importance of improving military preparedness for unexpected threats, saying, “one of the lessons that must be learned from the failure of October 7th is that a surprises can always happen and therefore, at least part of the Air Force must be ready within half an hour.”

{Matzav.com}