By Wise Counsel Thou Shalt Make Thy War | Heroes of October 7th and Beyond

April 2, 2026 | S1 E4 | 49:46

Erick Stakelbeck hosts a look at the heroic acts of people during the October 7th attacks.

#Israel #War #Terrorism #PersonalStory #Testimony #Courage #Inspirational #ErickStakelbeck

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Heroes of October 7th and Beyond | By Wise Counsel Thou Shalt Make Thy War | Heroes of October 7th and Beyond | April 2, 2026

Hezbollah was the
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Crown jewel in an empire of evil.
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We took about 90 trucks of ammunitions and weapons
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Out of that small village.
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There is just chaos, just chaos.
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Opening the northern front on october 8th
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Was the next move in a plan designed in tehran
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To destroy israel.
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We were a race against time
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To deploy as fast as we can.
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We eliminate hassan nasrallah in his bunker in beirut.
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Global media is flooded with images
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Of countless hezbollah terrorists
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With fingers blown off, ears blown off.
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You have to think there was paranoia
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In the upper ranks of hezbollah after this.
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I do believe intelligence is art,
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It's not science.
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I wouldn't want to imagine
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Had hezbollah enacted its plans
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To invade into israel.
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The northern front didn't light up by accident.
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On october 8th,
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One day after hamas
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Stormed across israel's southern border
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And butchered 1,200 innocent civilians,
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Hezbollah opened fire on israel.
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Anti-tank missiles, mortars, drones.
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It was the signal flare of a second front
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Against iran's most powerful proxy.
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So who is hezbollah?
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Start here.
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It's an iranian-built army inside lebanon
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Sworn to israel's destruction
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And armed to the teeth by its masters in tehran.
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Hezbollah was created in 1982
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When iran's islamic revolutionary guards corps,
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Or irgc, set up shop in lebanon's bekaa valley,
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Training and unifying scattered shiite militias
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Into one force called the party of allah,
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Or hezbollah.
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They brought cash, doctrine, discipline,
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And wrapped it all in the so-called
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Mission of resistance against israel.
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From there, hezbollah built a parallel power machine
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In lebanon, a political party,
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A tv network called al-manar,
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And social services in heavily shiite areas.
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Most importantly, hezbollah built
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A formidable combat force
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Shaped by battles with israel
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And later on hardened in the killing fields
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Of the syrian civil war.
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Let's talk about sheikh hassan nasrallah,
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Hezbollah's longtime leader.
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A master propagandist,
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He projected power with long speeches
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And carefully planned threats.
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Under nasrallah, south lebanon became one giant launch pad.
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His reign at the top of hezbollah began in 1992
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When he was just 32 years old.
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In 2006, under nasrallah's direction,
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Hezbollah crossed into israel,
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Killing and kidnapping idf soldiers.
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This sparked the second lebanon war.
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Israel hit back from the air,
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Then pushed ground forces into south lebanon.
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Hezbollah fired thousands of rockets at the north.
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After 34 days, a ceasefire was reached
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Under un resolution 1701.
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In simple terms, 1701 said, stop shooting,
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Israel pulls back, the lebanese army moves south,
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No hezbollah weapons near the border up to the blue line,
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And all militias are supposed to disarm.
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On paper, that kept the rockets out.
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In practice, hezbollah rebuilt and rearmed,
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Waiting for the day to fulfill
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Their most important mission,
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To bring israel to an end.
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For decades, iran kept the pipeline open.
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Money, training, weapons,
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All flowing into the hands of hezbollah.
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The result?
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A militia turned military with brigades,
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Special units,
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And an arsenal that could reach
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Every inch of israel.
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We're talking well over 100,000 rockets and missiles,
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From short-range katyushas
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To systems designed to reach deep into israel.
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Plus, precision-guided munitions,
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Swarms of armed uavs,
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Advanced anti-tank and anti-ship missiles,
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And an underground tunnel network
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Built with north korean know-how and irgc engineering.
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At the same time, hezbollah's elite,
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Radwan units, trained to cross the border
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And seize israeli communities in the galilee.
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The message became clear on october 8th.
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While israel reeled from the hamas massacre in the south,
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Hezbollah would see to it that the north
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Would also bleed.
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This is the iranian playbook,
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The ring of fire surrounding israel on all sides.
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Gaza to the south, hezbollah to the north,
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Militias in syria and iraq,
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And the houthis in yemen,
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All synchronized to stretch israel's defenses
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And grind down its will in a long war of attrition.
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Lebanon was the crown jewel of that strategy,
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And hezbollah was iran's strongest proxy.
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Opening the northern front on october 8th
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Wasn't just a spontaneous act of solidarity.
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It was the next move
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In a plan designed in tehran to destroy israel.
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When a second front opened in the north,
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Israel responded. it took time.
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The fighting in the north dragged on for over a year.
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Rockets, drones, anti-tank fire, towns uprooted,
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Reserves stretched thin.
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For the first time in israel's history,
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Tens of thousands of civilians
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Were evacuated from their homes.
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Entire communities were displaced.
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Towns and villages along the country's northern border
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Emptied overnight, transforming the entire region
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Into a landscape of ghost towns.
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But step by step, the idf broke the monster's grip
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On the northern border.
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In a surgically executed, intelligence-led offensive,
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Israel activated a years-in-the-making
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Beeper operation that had secretly planted
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Explosive devices inside hezbollah ranks.
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And what came next stunned the world.
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Israel eliminated hassan nasrallah,
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Decimated his senior command,
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Destroyed hezbollah's missile stockpiles,
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And smashed their launch sites.
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The result was that israel secured the north
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So that families can return safely to their homes.
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So where did iran and its prized proxy hezbollah go wrong?
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And how did israel get it so right?
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I'm sitting down with lieutenant colonel jonathan conricus,
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Former idf international spokesman
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And one of israel's leading experts on hezbollah,
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To break it all down.
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Jonathan, always a pleasure to have you with us.
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Thanks so much for joining us.
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We want to give an overview here
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Of the dramatic achievements of the idf
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Over the past nearly two years now,
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Starting with october 7th.
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And it seems that the iranian regime
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And its axis signed its own death warrant,
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In essence, on that day.
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Let's start with hezbollah.
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And the superior intelligence that israel was able
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To build up inside lebanon over a period of years
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That led to those stunning achievements.
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I don't think that the iranians
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Really knowingly signed their death warrant.
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I think that their hubris got the better of them
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And that one of their proxies got carried away
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With fantasies and really jumped the gun.
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Yahya sinwar, the late terrorist leader of hamas,
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He set into motion a chain of events
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That i'm sure that if the clever, cunning,
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Strategic iranians would have played out the scenario,
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They wouldn't have authorized hamas
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To even start thinking about it
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If they would have imagined that two years after,
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They would find themselves in the probably weakest point
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That they've been in the last 25 years.
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It's still a work in progress, though.
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And i think that we can be somewhat satisfied
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With the current situation
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Because the iranian project of encircling israel
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In a ring of fire and having arab proxy forces
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Aiming their guns, missiles and rockets at israeli civilians
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And having significant deterrence.
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We speak about hezbollah and i'll elaborate
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About the intelligence.
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But if we're honest,
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Hezbollah held deterring power over israel,
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Over israeli decision makers,
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And it influenced decisions made by israel
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Not to engage the enemy, not to engage hezbollah,
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Not to really intercept and undermine
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Its force building capabilities.
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And we found ourselves on october 7th
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Surrounded by iranian proxies
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With real teeth and real capabilities.
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It's important to understand exactly how powerful
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And how strong and deterring hezbollah was.
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This was the crown jewel
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In an empire of evil of the iranians.
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They were equipped with the best hardware
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That the islamic republic of iran could provide
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And russian weapons and syrian capabilities.
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All of that was front loaded.
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We're talking about around one billion u.s. dollars
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Every year from iran to hezbollah
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That went to salaries, to procurement,
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To force buildup, to digging tunnels
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And of course to providing weapons and ammunition
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To this organization.
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Artillery capabilities that are larger
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And more powerful than many european countries,
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Including nato members.
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We're not talking about a terror organization,
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We're talking about a non-state actor
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With state level capabilities.
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And that's how big and powerful hezbollah was.
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They bombarded our cities
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And they forced tens of thousands of israelis
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Out of their homes and they effectively
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Shrunk the size of israel temporarily.
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And we've never had that
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And i hope that we never again
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Will witness and feel such a thing,
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But the fact that it did happen
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Is something that we need to learn lessons from
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And make sure never happens again
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And to prevent it
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In terms of undermining enemy capabilities.
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That's something that we have to be
00:11:39.121 --> 00:11:40.189
Very, very careful about.
00:11:40.189 --> 00:11:41.290
So regarding hezbollah,
00:11:41.290 --> 00:11:43.759
As opposed to the situation in the south with hamas,
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Since 2006 we meant business
00:11:47.329 --> 00:11:50.266
And we collected intelligence
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Knowing that israeli lives depended
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On the quality of intelligence that we were able to collect
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When it comes to hezbollah.
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So there was very little movement, activity
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Or anything done by hezbollah
00:12:04.280 --> 00:12:06.549
That wasn't monitored, analyzed,
00:12:06.549 --> 00:12:08.684
Classified and understood by israeli intelligence.
00:12:08.684 --> 00:12:13.722
And as we saw at the beepers operation
00:12:13.722 --> 00:12:15.457
And other things, there were also deep penetrations
00:12:15.457 --> 00:12:19.128
Into the holy of holiest of hezbollah's machinery,
00:12:19.128 --> 00:12:23.432
Knowing that it's going to take time
00:12:23.432 --> 00:12:25.034
Until it comes into fruition,
00:12:25.034 --> 00:12:26.802
But if you do it well,
00:12:26.802 --> 00:12:28.671
You will have a joker or a trump card
00:12:28.671 --> 00:12:31.440
Up your sleeve that can really be
00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.409
The surprise component.
00:12:33.409 --> 00:12:34.777
But if we go from the realm of james bond
00:12:34.777 --> 00:12:39.081
And we look at hard military realities,
00:12:39.081 --> 00:12:42.318
What the idf showed
00:12:42.318 --> 00:12:44.019
Once the political echelon in israel
00:12:44.019 --> 00:12:46.388
Gave the green light and the go-ahead
00:12:46.388 --> 00:12:47.990
Was that it was indeed prepared, had intel,
00:12:47.990 --> 00:12:51.527
Had a good understanding of hezbollah's assets,
00:12:51.527 --> 00:12:54.530
Had a good understanding of where the personnel were,
00:12:54.530 --> 00:12:57.333
Where they were hiding, where the first hiding place,
00:12:57.333 --> 00:13:00.135
The secondary hiding place and the third hiding place
00:13:00.135 --> 00:13:03.305
Of senior hezbollah officials was,
00:13:03.305 --> 00:13:09.545
And that we had the ability to strike them.
00:13:10.446 --> 00:13:13.249
And i think there's a lot of things to learn
00:13:13.249 --> 00:13:15.618
From how israel collected intelligence
00:13:15.618 --> 00:13:18.554
And prepared itself to fight hezbollah.
00:13:18.554 --> 00:13:21.824
They went from 2006 being the leaders
00:13:21.824 --> 00:13:26.395
And the avant-garde,
00:13:26.395 --> 00:13:27.730
The forefront of jihadi islamism
00:13:27.730 --> 00:13:30.633
And the standard bearer of fighting against israel,
00:13:30.633 --> 00:13:33.636
What they call the zionist endeavor,
00:13:33.636 --> 00:13:36.372
Into being at the verge of being disarmed
00:13:36.372 --> 00:13:39.275
By the lebanese state.
00:13:39.275 --> 00:13:40.609
And it happened thanks to israeli fighting
00:13:40.609 --> 00:13:43.245
And intelligence collection, air force,
00:13:43.245 --> 00:13:46.916
Ground forces and a systemic dismantling
00:13:46.916 --> 00:13:50.286
Of hezbollah's capabilities.
00:13:50.286 --> 00:13:52.588
If we go back to really how things started,
00:13:53.522 --> 00:13:56.625
In the strategic operational planning
00:13:56.625 --> 00:13:58.994
Of the idf, the beeper operation
00:13:58.994 --> 00:14:01.330
Was never a standalone thing.
00:14:01.330 --> 00:14:03.165
It was designed to be, exactly as it played out,
00:14:03.165 --> 00:14:06.702
As the first destabilizing move against hezbollah
00:14:06.702 --> 00:14:11.006
That would send the organization into disarray
00:14:11.006 --> 00:14:14.276
In terms of its command and control
00:14:14.276 --> 00:14:15.911
And its offensive capabilities,
00:14:15.911 --> 00:14:17.846
And then expose hezbollah's leadership
00:14:17.846 --> 00:14:20.783
To further israeli attacks until they are decimated.
00:14:20.783 --> 00:14:24.386
And i'm happy to say that that is more or less
00:14:24.386 --> 00:14:26.722
How it played out. -you have to think
00:14:26.722 --> 00:14:28.557
There was paranoia in the upper ranks
00:14:28.557 --> 00:14:30.659
Of hezbollah after this,
00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:31.927
That israel was able to infiltrate so deeply
00:14:31.927 --> 00:14:35.097
And have such incredible intelligence
00:14:35.097 --> 00:14:36.932
And pull this daring operation off.
00:14:36.932 --> 00:14:39.168
I would dare to say,
00:14:39.168 --> 00:14:40.736
Hoping that i won't be sound cynical,
00:14:40.736 --> 00:14:43.205
I think that there's still a lot of effect
00:14:43.205 --> 00:14:46.075
And a lot of paranoia in all of the enemies of israel,
00:14:46.075 --> 00:14:49.578
Having seen that, having seen what israel was able to do.
00:14:49.578 --> 00:14:53.549
And i think that a lot of the terrorists around the world,
00:14:53.549 --> 00:14:57.086
Especially enemies of israel,
00:14:57.086 --> 00:14:59.621
They really have to reassess how they operate.
00:14:59.621 --> 00:15:03.158
And i'm sure that they are thinking
00:15:03.158 --> 00:15:04.893
Long and hard about it,
00:15:04.893 --> 00:15:05.961
Looking at every electronic device,
00:15:05.961 --> 00:15:08.330
Even the remote control for the air conditioner
00:15:08.330 --> 00:15:11.033
Is a suspect maybe to be penetrated by israel.
00:15:11.033 --> 00:15:15.738
No doubt. and we lead up from the beeper operation,
00:15:15.738 --> 00:15:19.174
Obviously, to the elimination, the dramatic elimination
00:15:19.174 --> 00:15:21.744
Of sheikh hassan nasrallah,
00:15:21.744 --> 00:15:23.245
The longtime leader of hezbollah. -yeah.
00:15:23.245 --> 00:15:25.514
And jonathan, the radwan force,
00:15:25.514 --> 00:15:27.149
An elite military command.
00:15:27.149 --> 00:15:29.051
Talk about the significance of those two blows.
00:15:29.051 --> 00:15:33.055
How does the idf pull that off?
00:15:33.055 --> 00:15:35.891
So let's be frank here.
00:15:36.392 --> 00:15:37.860
As horrible as october 7th was,
00:15:37.860 --> 00:15:40.095
As devastating as it was to see what hamas did
00:15:40.095 --> 00:15:43.632
To israeli civilians,
00:15:43.632 --> 00:15:45.067
It could have been much, much worse
00:15:45.067 --> 00:15:47.669
Had hezbollah enacted its plans.
00:15:47.669 --> 00:15:50.572
You speak about the radwan unit.
00:15:50.572 --> 00:15:52.474
People at home perhaps haven't heard that name before.
00:15:52.474 --> 00:15:55.277
But what people should understand about radwan
00:15:55.277 --> 00:15:57.946
Is that that was the tip of the spear,
00:15:57.946 --> 00:16:00.616
The best of the best of hezbollah's fighters,
00:16:00.616 --> 00:16:03.352
Of their terrorists,
00:16:03.352 --> 00:16:04.586
That had access to the best training,
00:16:04.586 --> 00:16:08.057
The best weapons, the best facilities,
00:16:08.057 --> 00:16:10.659
And were busy day and night
00:16:10.659 --> 00:16:13.095
Preparing to invade into israel.
00:16:13.095 --> 00:16:15.898
They got a lot of battlefield experience on the ground
00:16:15.898 --> 00:16:18.901
From butchering other muslims in syria.
00:16:18.901 --> 00:16:22.304
That's how they started to actually form as a unit.
00:16:22.304 --> 00:16:25.374
And that's where in 2012, for the first time,
00:16:25.374 --> 00:16:28.811
The late hassan nasrallah came up with the bright idea of,
00:16:28.811 --> 00:16:32.381
Okay, let's take the battlefield into israel.
00:16:32.381 --> 00:16:35.717
Let's plan and build offensive capabilities
00:16:36.618 --> 00:16:39.988
That will allow hezbollah to conduct raids,
00:16:39.988 --> 00:16:43.358
To breach into israel,
00:16:43.358 --> 00:16:45.694
To encircle a community or a base,
00:16:45.694 --> 00:16:49.164
And then to overwhelm it with firepower and force
00:16:49.164 --> 00:16:52.367
In a certain area in order to kill and abduct
00:16:52.367 --> 00:16:56.305
And massacre and, of course,
00:16:56.305 --> 00:16:58.507
Amplify everything in media
00:16:58.507 --> 00:17:00.642
In order to gain not only a victory on the ground,
00:17:00.642 --> 00:17:03.312
But a psychological victory against israel.
00:17:03.312 --> 00:17:09.218
That, in general, was the plan.
00:17:09.952 --> 00:17:11.520
And the plan was called "conquering the galilee."
00:17:11.520 --> 00:17:14.590
And the unit in charge of that,
00:17:14.590 --> 00:17:16.425
In terms of hezbollah, was radwan.
00:17:16.425 --> 00:17:18.527
That unit was really the biggest concern
00:17:18.527 --> 00:17:21.563
That israel had, not only the fighters.
00:17:21.563 --> 00:17:23.832
But if you go up to northern israel today,
00:17:23.832 --> 00:17:26.368
Think about 80 miles of a front area.
00:17:26.368 --> 00:17:31.173
That's the size of the lebanese-israeli border,
00:17:32.107 --> 00:17:35.344
The so-called blue line.
00:17:35.344 --> 00:17:36.812
Now, there's about 30 lebanese villages
00:17:36.812 --> 00:17:40.182
Along that front area,
00:17:40.182 --> 00:17:42.351
Except for three christian villages
00:17:42.351 --> 00:17:44.386
That are in the central part of the area.
00:17:44.386 --> 00:17:46.355
All of them are shiite villages.
00:17:46.355 --> 00:17:48.290
And all of those shiite villages,
00:17:48.290 --> 00:17:50.459
They were meant to look like villages,
00:17:50.459 --> 00:17:52.161
But they were, in fact, military compounds
00:17:52.161 --> 00:17:54.596
With tremendous underground military infrastructure
00:17:54.596 --> 00:17:58.734
That was in place, ready to be used
00:17:58.734 --> 00:18:01.537
On the day of order when hassan nasrallah
00:18:01.537 --> 00:18:03.906
Would order radwan to attack and penetrate into israel.
00:18:03.906 --> 00:18:08.544
You and i entered one of those tunnels
00:18:08.544 --> 00:18:10.412
Together, jonathan. -indeed, exactly.
00:18:10.412 --> 00:18:11.713
And i'll never forget that experience.
00:18:11.713 --> 00:18:13.048
Exactly. -deep underground, heavily fortified.
00:18:13.048 --> 00:18:15.617
The advancement of those tunnels
00:18:15.617 --> 00:18:17.085
And the money that hezbollah put into them was stunning.
00:18:17.085 --> 00:18:19.655
Fortunately, we were able to detect those tunnels
00:18:19.655 --> 00:18:23.859
And undermine them. by the way, a good opportunity,
00:18:23.859 --> 00:18:26.828
Again, as an israeli, to say thank you
00:18:26.828 --> 00:18:29.231
To u.s. congress, to aipac, for tunnel detection technology,
00:18:29.231 --> 00:18:34.269
Which was developed together, u.s. and israel,
00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:36.572
But with u.s. funding.
00:18:36.572 --> 00:18:37.973
That technology made it possible for israel
00:18:37.973 --> 00:18:40.142
To detect the tunnels. we were able to dismantle
00:18:40.142 --> 00:18:43.078
All the tunnels. the tunnel that you and i visited
00:18:43.078 --> 00:18:45.447
Is one of six tunnels that hezbollah dug.
00:18:45.447 --> 00:18:49.585
It was 24 stories deep.
00:18:49.585 --> 00:18:52.788
That tunnel was almost, almost ready
00:18:52.788 --> 00:18:55.190
To be used by hezbollah.
00:18:55.190 --> 00:18:57.259
Fortunately, that didn't happen.
00:18:57.259 --> 00:18:59.595
Hassan nasrallah didn't give the okay.
00:18:59.595 --> 00:19:02.397
Radwan were not deployed.
00:19:02.397 --> 00:19:04.600
And instead of radwan being the hunters,
00:19:04.600 --> 00:19:07.469
Radwan was hunted.
00:19:07.469 --> 00:19:08.804
The commanders were eliminated
00:19:08.804 --> 00:19:11.039
As they were convening in order to plan an attack
00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:14.943
Or to execute an attack against israel.
00:19:14.943 --> 00:19:21.049
Hezbollah leadership actually operated
00:19:21.850 --> 00:19:25.687
Pretty much along the lines of the scenarios
00:19:25.687 --> 00:19:28.056
That israeli intel officers assessed that they would.
00:19:28.056 --> 00:19:31.193
They thought that they would find safety and security
00:19:31.193 --> 00:19:34.329
Underneath civilian buildings in the dahya al-janubiyah,
00:19:34.329 --> 00:19:37.866
The southern neighborhood of beirut,
00:19:37.866 --> 00:19:40.035
And that's where they hid, but that was proven to be wrong.
00:19:40.035 --> 00:19:44.139
I wouldn't want to imagine
00:19:44.706 --> 00:19:46.875
What the consequences would have been
00:19:46.875 --> 00:19:48.677
If hassan nasrallah had made different choices
00:19:48.677 --> 00:19:51.713
And unleashed radwan on israel.
00:19:51.713 --> 00:19:54.082
We would have found ourselves in a very difficult situation.
00:19:54.082 --> 00:19:56.752
And once israel decided to launch the beeper operation,
00:19:56.752 --> 00:20:01.456
Which set into motion a whole chain of events
00:20:01.456 --> 00:20:04.192
That effectively decapitated hezbollah
00:20:04.192 --> 00:20:07.629
And really took the wind out of its sails,
00:20:07.629 --> 00:20:10.465
So to speak, you could say that a lot of the middle east
00:20:10.465 --> 00:20:14.102
Started to change and started to unravel
00:20:14.102 --> 00:20:16.605
In a very good way for the forces of good,
00:20:16.605 --> 00:20:20.175
Democracy, civil rights,
00:20:20.175 --> 00:20:22.244
And in a bad way for the iranians
00:20:22.244 --> 00:20:24.146
And the forces of darkness.
00:20:24.146 --> 00:20:25.847
I think the syrian dictator, bashar al-assad,
00:20:25.847 --> 00:20:28.717
Would not have fallen had it not been for the fact
00:20:28.717 --> 00:20:31.119
That the most important protector
00:20:31.119 --> 00:20:33.388
In terms of infantry and boots on the ground,
00:20:33.388 --> 00:20:35.524
Hezbollah, were taken out of the equation.
00:20:35.524 --> 00:20:38.660
But we should be cautious and always on guard
00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:42.731
And vigilant with our enemies
00:20:42.731 --> 00:20:44.132
Because hezbollah is a grassroots organization
00:20:44.132 --> 00:20:48.203
That cleverly has spent a lot of time and energy
00:20:48.203 --> 00:20:52.841
Working down and deep in lebanese society
00:20:52.841 --> 00:20:56.078
Amongst the shiite population.
00:20:56.078 --> 00:20:57.879
And there's a very strong bond between shiites in lebanon
00:20:57.879 --> 00:21:01.683
And hezbollah as an organization.
00:21:01.683 --> 00:21:04.252
That bond isn't going to be undone
00:21:04.252 --> 00:21:06.955
By military setbacks.
00:21:06.955 --> 00:21:09.524
Jonathan, thanks so much. great breakdown.
00:21:09.524 --> 00:21:11.693
This was a master class. we appreciate it, my friend.
00:21:11.693 --> 00:21:15.097
God bless. -thank you very much for having me.
00:21:15.097 --> 00:21:16.164
Thanks, jonathan. of course. always.
00:21:16.164 --> 00:21:23.739
So what did the war on the northern border looked like?
00:21:24.840 --> 00:21:28.643
Day after day, border communities emptied out.
00:21:28.643 --> 00:21:32.114
Families from towns like kiryat shmona, metula, shtula,
00:21:32.114 --> 00:21:37.018
And dozens of villages were ordered to evacuate.
00:21:37.018 --> 00:21:40.789
Tens of thousands of israelis leaving homes, farms,
00:21:40.789 --> 00:21:45.327
And schools behind.
00:21:45.327 --> 00:21:47.195
Hotels filled with evacuees.
00:21:47.195 --> 00:21:50.198
Classrooms moved to temporary campuses.
00:21:50.198 --> 00:21:53.568
Once bustling streets turned silent.
00:21:53.568 --> 00:21:57.072
Missile impacts scorched orchards and forests.
00:21:57.072 --> 00:22:00.409
Set homes ablaze, ripped through factories
00:22:00.409 --> 00:22:03.845
And kibbutz dining halls.
00:22:03.845 --> 00:22:05.981
Sirens and intercepts became part of the northern soundtrack.
00:22:05.981 --> 00:22:10.919
While air force jets and artillery
00:22:10.919 --> 00:22:13.422
Answered back across the blue line.
00:22:13.422 --> 00:22:17.159
Under un security council resolution 1701,
00:22:18.059 --> 00:22:22.397
Passed in 2006 after the last major war
00:22:22.397 --> 00:22:26.134
Between israel and hezbollah,
00:22:26.134 --> 00:22:28.370
No armed group is permitted to operate south
00:22:28.370 --> 00:22:32.407
Of lebanon's litani river,
00:22:32.407 --> 00:22:34.376
A little over 18 miles north of israel's border.
00:22:34.376 --> 00:22:38.013
Hezbollah not only repeatedly violated that un resolution,
00:22:38.013 --> 00:22:42.884
Its fighters turned the area into a terror stronghold.
00:22:42.884 --> 00:22:47.522
On the lebanese side,
00:22:47.522 --> 00:22:48.924
Civilians fled from the south to the north
00:22:48.924 --> 00:22:52.294
As hezbollah embedded launchers and terrorists
00:22:52.294 --> 00:22:55.497
In and around villages.
00:22:55.497 --> 00:22:57.732
Inside israeli homes far from the northern border,
00:22:57.732 --> 00:23:01.336
Anxieties spiked.
00:23:01.336 --> 00:23:03.405
Supermarkets saw runs on bottled water,
00:23:03.405 --> 00:23:06.041
Batteries, generators, and first aid kits.
00:23:06.041 --> 00:23:09.377
Families prepped safe rooms.
00:23:09.377 --> 00:23:11.646
Parents kept one eye on whatsapp alerts
00:23:11.646 --> 00:23:14.883
And the other on their kids.
00:23:14.883 --> 00:23:16.918
Ask anyone from haifa to tel aviv,
00:23:16.918 --> 00:23:19.921
There was a gnawing fear
00:23:19.921 --> 00:23:22.123
That this could be the spark for a full-scale showdown
00:23:22.123 --> 00:23:25.894
With iran's most dangerous proxy.
00:23:25.894 --> 00:23:30.198
I'm sitting down with colonel r.,
00:23:30.866 --> 00:23:33.034
Former chief of staff of the 769th hiram brigade,
00:23:33.034 --> 00:23:37.739
A man who saw the northern war up close
00:23:37.739 --> 00:23:40.375
Day after day.
00:23:40.375 --> 00:23:42.177
Some stories are told in the light,
00:23:42.177 --> 00:23:44.613
Others are shared only from the shadows,
00:23:44.613 --> 00:23:47.415
When speaking openly still carries weight.
00:23:47.415 --> 00:23:51.219
R., thank you so much for joining us.
00:23:51.219 --> 00:23:53.622
Can you tell us a bit about your background
00:23:53.622 --> 00:23:56.024
With the idf?
00:23:56.024 --> 00:23:57.492
I'm already in the reserved army
00:23:57.492 --> 00:23:58.927
About for 28 years in the brigade of 769, hiram.
00:23:58.927 --> 00:24:03.598
What exactly does the hiram brigade do?
00:24:03.598 --> 00:24:05.867
We are in charge of the galilee panhandle.
00:24:05.867 --> 00:24:09.204
We defend the sector, the residents, communities.
00:24:09.204 --> 00:24:13.542
Tell us about some of the unique challenges
00:24:13.542 --> 00:24:15.544
In your region, in the north,
00:24:15.544 --> 00:24:17.412
That the idf faced before october 7th.
00:24:17.412 --> 00:24:20.382
Well, before october 7th, the threat was quite imminent.
00:24:20.382 --> 00:24:24.319
We found quite a few of tunnels
00:24:24.319 --> 00:24:26.855
That were in the middle of the work
00:24:26.855 --> 00:24:29.357
That crossed the border from lebanon into israel.
00:24:29.357 --> 00:24:32.694
We were able to find those tunnels and destroy them.
00:24:32.694 --> 00:24:35.931
But if you would go down into a tunnel,
00:24:35.931 --> 00:24:38.366
You could see the work they were doing.
00:24:38.366 --> 00:24:40.001
It took a long time, very slowly.
00:24:40.001 --> 00:24:42.737
So the plans were quite clear.
00:24:42.737 --> 00:24:45.407
They intended to attack and search communities
00:24:45.407 --> 00:24:49.311
And villages on the border through tunnels,
00:24:49.311 --> 00:24:52.380
Like we did in the southern communities.
00:24:52.380 --> 00:24:55.050
It would be quite a terrible scenario
00:24:55.050 --> 00:24:57.118
If they were able to deploy their plan
00:24:57.118 --> 00:24:59.821
As they wanted to.
00:24:59.821 --> 00:25:02.390
They joined the fray, did hezbollah,
00:25:03.158 --> 00:25:05.493
Almost immediately. talk about the immediate weeks
00:25:05.493 --> 00:25:08.863
In the wake of october 8th
00:25:08.863 --> 00:25:11.032
When hezbollah begins firing rockets.
00:25:11.032 --> 00:25:13.101
Okay, i'll start actually on the morning of the 7th.
00:25:13.101 --> 00:25:15.670
It also surprised us, this attack in the southern border.
00:25:15.670 --> 00:25:20.008
So we're deployed only with two battalions
00:25:20.008 --> 00:25:23.545
In our vast sector.
00:25:23.545 --> 00:25:26.014
I reached the command post. i understand that hezbollah
00:25:26.014 --> 00:25:29.284
May attack immediately.
00:25:29.284 --> 00:25:31.453
I sent out a whatsapp to all the reserved officers:
00:25:31.453 --> 00:25:35.523
"get into your cars with a bag and get up now."
00:25:35.523 --> 00:25:38.326
So we actually mobilized all the staff
00:25:38.326 --> 00:25:41.529
And all our reserved battalions.
00:25:41.529 --> 00:25:45.000
So i can tell that we turned into
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:47.802
A race against the time because hezbollah,
00:25:47.802 --> 00:25:50.872
Before the 7th, is deployed,
00:25:50.872 --> 00:25:53.541
Not fully, but deployed on the border.
00:25:53.541 --> 00:25:56.211
It has capabilities, has its weapons, ammunition.
00:25:56.211 --> 00:25:59.714
It can do an attack, an insurgent raid,
00:25:59.714 --> 00:26:02.917
Immediately if it wants to.
00:26:02.917 --> 00:26:04.686
We understand that hezbollah doesn't understand
00:26:04.686 --> 00:26:06.388
What's happening also in the southern border.
00:26:06.388 --> 00:26:09.290
Even they were taken by surprise. -they were taken
00:26:09.290 --> 00:26:11.459
By surprise also. -because the plan was
00:26:11.459 --> 00:26:13.261
A coordinated attack eventually, right?
00:26:13.261 --> 00:26:15.397
That entire iranian ring of fire, perhaps.
00:26:15.397 --> 00:26:17.966
Hezbollah was taken by surprise.
00:26:17.966 --> 00:26:19.901
So we were a race against time.
00:26:19.901 --> 00:26:22.070
Before they got into a decision, if they are joining
00:26:22.070 --> 00:26:26.541
Or going on to a full-blown attack,
00:26:26.541 --> 00:26:29.210
We have to deploy as fast as we can.
00:26:29.210 --> 00:26:31.379
We mobilized our reserved battalions.
00:26:31.379 --> 00:26:34.416
They got into the emergency units.
00:26:34.416 --> 00:26:36.618
So by evening, i had a company
00:26:36.618 --> 00:26:38.153
In every community or city or village in the border.
00:26:38.153 --> 00:26:42.057
And we were already deployed quite strong.
00:26:42.057 --> 00:26:44.526
So hezbollah had to take the decision
00:26:44.526 --> 00:26:47.395
If they're joining or not joining,
00:26:47.395 --> 00:26:48.863
Or if they're going into attack,
00:26:48.863 --> 00:26:50.832
We were already deployed quite strong.
00:26:50.832 --> 00:26:52.367
They did not go into a full-blown attack.
00:26:52.367 --> 00:26:54.369
I think that is one of the successes we had in that order.
00:26:54.369 --> 00:26:58.173
The first few days, we still had the option
00:26:59.074 --> 00:27:02.210
Of a full-blown attack of hezbollah.
00:27:02.210 --> 00:27:04.779
Two things we had to take into consideration.
00:27:04.779 --> 00:27:07.248
First of all, is what all the communities
00:27:07.248 --> 00:27:09.350
And residents that were there.
00:27:09.350 --> 00:27:10.418
So one of the decisions
00:27:10.418 --> 00:27:12.320
Was to evacuate them,
00:27:12.320 --> 00:27:14.889
Which was not a simple decision.
00:27:14.889 --> 00:27:16.391
All the communities and villages
00:27:16.391 --> 00:27:18.760
That are on the border.
00:27:18.760 --> 00:27:20.361
And at the end, of course,
00:27:20.361 --> 00:27:21.229
Also the city kiryat shmona,
00:27:21.229 --> 00:27:22.764
Which has 25,000 residents.
00:27:22.764 --> 00:27:24.699
We evacuated them all.
00:27:24.699 --> 00:27:25.934
And we, every day,
00:27:25.934 --> 00:27:27.469
Put in more and more battalions into the sector.
00:27:27.469 --> 00:27:31.072
So after about a week or so,
00:27:31.072 --> 00:27:33.007
We are deployed 12 battalions in our sector.
00:27:33.007 --> 00:27:36.878
Each one has their own sector.
00:27:36.878 --> 00:27:38.246
It was quite hectic, i would say,
00:27:38.246 --> 00:27:39.681
For the first few weeks.
00:27:39.681 --> 00:27:40.782
But after the first few weeks,
00:27:40.782 --> 00:27:42.951
We're deployed strongly, ready for the next.
00:27:42.951 --> 00:27:46.588
Hamas dangerous, hezbollah even stronger in many ways.
00:27:46.588 --> 00:27:49.991
Talk about the differences and the unique challenges
00:27:49.991 --> 00:27:53.595
You faced in the north.
00:27:53.595 --> 00:27:55.263
Hezbollah is a well-organized military operation.
00:27:55.263 --> 00:27:59.868
7,000 soldiers of radwan, the special troops,
00:27:59.868 --> 00:28:02.804
That their main purpose is to conquer the galilee panhandle
00:28:02.804 --> 00:28:07.876
And just go in and catch the communities.
00:28:07.876 --> 00:28:10.512
Their infrastructure was unbelievable.
00:28:10.512 --> 00:28:13.715
In the villages itself on the border,
00:28:13.715 --> 00:28:15.550
The amounts of artillery they had.
00:28:15.550 --> 00:28:18.319
At beginning, they deployed
00:28:18.319 --> 00:28:19.587
All their anti-tank squads around the border.
00:28:19.587 --> 00:28:21.656
That means that we cannot move freely in our sector.
00:28:21.656 --> 00:28:25.827
There were a lot of roads that we flagged in red.
00:28:25.827 --> 00:28:28.797
If you go on them with a jeep or even walk,
00:28:28.797 --> 00:28:32.100
You would get a missile.
00:28:32.100 --> 00:28:34.202
We're in defense for about, i'd say, a year.
00:28:34.202 --> 00:28:37.505
We're slowly targeting hezbollah posts,
00:28:37.505 --> 00:28:41.209
Targeting hezbollah soldiers, making them go back.
00:28:41.209 --> 00:28:44.846
For the past year that we were in defense,
00:28:44.846 --> 00:28:47.448
We hit quite a lot of its forces and infrastructure.
00:28:47.448 --> 00:28:52.720
And we're not able to surveil
00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:56.624
Or detect any hezbollah warriors.
00:28:56.624 --> 00:28:58.626
We're in a surveillance gap
00:28:58.626 --> 00:29:00.295
Because they went so much back. -back from the border.
00:29:00.295 --> 00:29:02.397
Back from the border. they went from the first village
00:29:02.397 --> 00:29:04.365
Back to the second village, even further down.
00:29:04.365 --> 00:29:07.168
The beauty of the reserved army
00:29:07.168 --> 00:29:09.037
Is that we decided that we're going to build
00:29:09.037 --> 00:29:11.372
A drone unit from nothing, from scratch.
00:29:11.372 --> 00:29:14.142
We take a soldier and we say, listen,
00:29:14.142 --> 00:29:15.977
We have a surveillance gap. we need drones.
00:29:15.977 --> 00:29:18.680
Go study the subject.
00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:19.981
He goes, studies, finds people that do it
00:29:19.981 --> 00:29:22.917
In the civilian life, know how to fly drones,
00:29:22.917 --> 00:29:25.453
Bring them. we train them, get equipment.
00:29:25.453 --> 00:29:29.057
Two weeks after that, we have a drone unit
00:29:29.057 --> 00:29:32.460
That knows how to fly them up.
00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:33.828
They did a brilliant job.
00:29:33.828 --> 00:29:35.396
We found the hezbollah posts that were back
00:29:35.396 --> 00:29:38.800
That we didn't see, that were after the terrain,
00:29:38.800 --> 00:29:40.468
After the mountains, which we had no eyesight with them.
00:29:40.468 --> 00:29:43.771
And so they did a brilliant job.
00:29:43.771 --> 00:29:46.407
And i mean, that's the beauty of the reserved army,
00:29:46.407 --> 00:29:48.943
I'd say. it's capability to learn and function fast
00:29:48.943 --> 00:29:52.146
And build things.
00:29:52.146 --> 00:29:53.648
So this was a sisyphean year.
00:29:53.648 --> 00:29:58.686
September, 2024,
00:29:59.053 --> 00:30:00.755
The idf definitely ups the game.
00:30:00.755 --> 00:30:03.524
The beeper operation, which has become legendary.
00:30:03.524 --> 00:30:06.227
And then the elimination of essentially
00:30:06.227 --> 00:30:08.196
The entire leadership of the radwan force.
00:30:08.196 --> 00:30:11.132
Hassan nasrallah, i think many expected
00:30:11.132 --> 00:30:14.202
A big counterattack. word that they had massive arsenal.
00:30:14.202 --> 00:30:18.406
And they reacted, but not to the extent
00:30:18.406 --> 00:30:20.775
That many expected. and then the idf goes in
00:30:20.775 --> 00:30:23.845
On the ground.
00:30:23.845 --> 00:30:25.914
How challenging was that? the ground operation
00:30:26.881 --> 00:30:29.484
Into southern lebanon to root out
00:30:29.484 --> 00:30:31.185
And push back hezbollah?
00:30:31.185 --> 00:30:33.554
I'll start with an example of a village on the border,
00:30:33.554 --> 00:30:36.291
Kfar kila.
00:30:36.291 --> 00:30:37.325
Hezbollah over the years
00:30:37.325 --> 00:30:38.559
Turned that village
00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:39.594
Into a fortress, i would say.
00:30:39.594 --> 00:30:41.496
Any house we went into,
00:30:41.496 --> 00:30:43.097
We would find or a weapons cache,
00:30:43.097 --> 00:30:45.400
Or a lookout post, or an infrastructure,
00:30:45.400 --> 00:30:48.736
A tunnel that would take from a house to a post
00:30:48.736 --> 00:30:51.406
That you can fire from their missiles.
00:30:51.406 --> 00:30:54.008
We took about 90 trucks of ammunitions
00:30:54.008 --> 00:30:56.577
And weapons out of that small village.
00:30:56.577 --> 00:30:58.947
Now, when we go house to house,
00:30:58.947 --> 00:31:01.049
You can go into a children's room.
00:31:01.049 --> 00:31:03.751
Beautiful. there are bed and toys.
00:31:03.751 --> 00:31:06.020
You knock on the wall. you understand that it's hollow.
00:31:06.020 --> 00:31:08.623
You break down the wall and inside are cornet missiles,
00:31:08.623 --> 00:31:12.026
Rpgs, grenades. it's on the border.
00:31:12.026 --> 00:31:16.531
And as we saw what happened in the southern communities,
00:31:16.531 --> 00:31:19.334
That could have happened also in our borders.
00:31:19.334 --> 00:31:21.069
So the plans they had, you can just see it
00:31:21.069 --> 00:31:24.172
When you go into the village and walk from house to house
00:31:24.172 --> 00:31:26.474
And go inside. so all those infrastructures,
00:31:26.474 --> 00:31:29.177
There are things that we destroyed.
00:31:29.177 --> 00:31:31.846
We're not going to allow them to build that kind of thing
00:31:31.846 --> 00:31:34.248
Again on the border, on those villages
00:31:34.248 --> 00:31:36.985
That bring such a threat to the communities
00:31:36.985 --> 00:31:40.388
On the israeli side. -yeah.
00:31:41.022 --> 00:31:42.290
Talk about where hezbollah is now
00:31:42.290 --> 00:31:44.525
And your concerns about them now,
00:31:44.525 --> 00:31:46.060
What kind of threat they pose to the jewish state
00:31:46.060 --> 00:31:48.129
And the world at this moment.
00:31:48.129 --> 00:31:49.864
The imminent threat of a raid or an attack
00:31:49.864 --> 00:31:53.167
On a community or a residence
00:31:53.167 --> 00:31:55.370
Is something that we now eliminated.
00:31:55.370 --> 00:31:57.772
That is not on the table.
00:31:57.772 --> 00:31:59.841
When the iran 12 day attack happened,
00:31:59.841 --> 00:32:01.776
We immobilized all our battalions up in one day.
00:32:01.776 --> 00:32:05.947
We were sure they are going to attack.
00:32:05.947 --> 00:32:07.548
That's what they were built for all these years.
00:32:07.548 --> 00:32:09.884
When that didn't happen, we understand
00:32:09.884 --> 00:32:11.252
There was a major change, a major change in hezbollah,
00:32:11.252 --> 00:32:14.255
At least in the military aspect.
00:32:14.255 --> 00:32:17.458
It's stunning that they did not get involved
00:32:17.458 --> 00:32:20.261
During the 12 day war
00:32:20.261 --> 00:32:21.529
Because iran built them up for years
00:32:21.529 --> 00:32:24.265
In case israel did strike iran's nuclear weapons facilities.
00:32:24.265 --> 00:32:27.468
Well, we'll unleash hezbollah
00:32:27.468 --> 00:32:29.170
On you and it never happened. it was stunning.
00:32:29.170 --> 00:32:31.506
Do you have a message for the world
00:32:31.506 --> 00:32:33.207
About the righteousness of the idf's cause?
00:32:33.207 --> 00:32:36.411
I'm going to give this example of kfar kila,
00:32:36.411 --> 00:32:39.213
Which was a civilian village.
00:32:39.213 --> 00:32:41.349
There were doctors there and schools and mosques.
00:32:42.283 --> 00:32:44.952
One of the houses we go into,
00:32:44.952 --> 00:32:46.854
There is a cornet missile that looks straight into
00:32:46.854 --> 00:32:53.861
The village of kfar yuval, into israel.
00:32:53.861 --> 00:32:57.065
Now, one of those missiles was fired
00:32:57.832 --> 00:33:00.301
And killed two, a soldier and a civilian in kfar yuval.
00:33:00.301 --> 00:33:04.739
They were having breakfast in their house.
00:33:04.739 --> 00:33:06.908
And when you're looking from the village
00:33:06.908 --> 00:33:09.644
Into israel, when you see it with your eyes,
00:33:09.644 --> 00:33:12.080
It's really unbelievable.
00:33:12.080 --> 00:33:13.815
We as the army, the brigade 769
00:33:13.815 --> 00:33:16.384
Are committed to the residents, to the communities.
00:33:16.384 --> 00:33:20.688
We share the same goal.
00:33:20.688 --> 00:33:21.989
We want to raise the children.
00:33:21.989 --> 00:33:23.224
We want to plant trees, fruit trees,
00:33:23.224 --> 00:33:25.993
And live in peace in that terrain.
00:33:25.993 --> 00:33:28.729
And i think that's the message
00:33:28.729 --> 00:33:30.598
That i want to give. -last question.
00:33:30.598 --> 00:33:33.968
R., when you look back at the campaign against hezbollah,
00:33:33.968 --> 00:33:37.638
Has there been a particular moment for you
00:33:37.638 --> 00:33:40.475
On a personal level that affected you?
00:33:40.475 --> 00:33:42.443
Just something emotionally powerful for you
00:33:42.443 --> 00:33:45.613
As you're defending the state of israel
00:33:45.613 --> 00:33:47.315
Against an existential threat?
00:33:47.315 --> 00:33:49.984
There were a lot of fires in the sector.
00:33:49.984 --> 00:33:53.087
When you fire motors in the summer,
00:33:53.087 --> 00:33:55.790
With the winds and the weather, fires erupt.
00:33:55.790 --> 00:33:58.559
A lot of orchards were burned.
00:33:58.559 --> 00:34:00.495
Forests were burned.
00:34:00.495 --> 00:34:03.064
I'm walking in a patrol in an orchard and it's all burnt.
00:34:03.064 --> 00:34:07.435
But between the burnt trees and everything,
00:34:07.435 --> 00:34:10.037
You see small green sprouts
00:34:10.037 --> 00:34:12.940
Coming out from the ground, growing up.
00:34:12.940 --> 00:34:16.043
And i took a picture of that.
00:34:16.043 --> 00:34:17.712
You understand, there is hope.
00:34:17.712 --> 00:34:19.514
I mean, everything is going to grow back
00:34:19.514 --> 00:34:21.516
And be green and life will come back
00:34:21.516 --> 00:34:23.684
To that region. so that's also part of it.
00:34:23.684 --> 00:34:25.920
It is such a beautiful region.
00:34:25.920 --> 00:34:28.623
Thank you so much. god bless you.
00:34:28.623 --> 00:34:30.324
Thanks for all you're doing. we appreciate it.
00:34:30.324 --> 00:34:32.193
Thank you very much.
00:34:32.193 --> 00:34:35.530
Israel is a small country.
00:34:36.097 --> 00:34:38.399
No gold to mine, no oil to pump.
00:34:38.399 --> 00:34:41.969
Its wealth is its people.
00:34:41.969 --> 00:34:44.739
When we return, we're diving into the brilliant minds
00:34:44.739 --> 00:34:48.109
Behind israel's world-class intelligence
00:34:48.109 --> 00:34:51.746
And hearing from the thinkers
00:34:51.746 --> 00:34:53.648
Who outsmarted enemies, brought down hezbollah,
00:34:53.648 --> 00:34:57.552
And turned the northern war israel's way.
00:34:57.552 --> 00:35:07.009
And turned the northern war israel's way.
00:35:07.009 --> 00:35:13.673
Israel is a tiny nation
00:35:14.173 --> 00:35:16.742
Ringed by hostile armies and vastly outnumbered.
00:35:16.742 --> 00:35:20.680
So it built the sharpest edge it could,
00:35:20.680 --> 00:35:24.383
People who think faster and see farther.
00:35:24.383 --> 00:35:28.721
And with them, israel forged
00:35:28.721 --> 00:35:30.923
A world-class intelligence machine.
00:35:30.923 --> 00:35:33.993
Because from the early days,
00:35:33.993 --> 00:35:35.962
Intelligence wasn't a luxury. it was survival.
00:35:35.962 --> 00:35:40.399
In 1966, operation diamond persuaded an iraqi pilot
00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:47.006
To land his mig-21 in israel,
00:35:47.006 --> 00:35:50.109
Giving the west a soviet-made fighter jet
00:35:50.109 --> 00:35:53.379
To dissect and counter.
00:35:53.379 --> 00:35:55.281
In 1967, during the six-day war,
00:35:55.281 --> 00:35:58.618
Israel launched operation focus,
00:35:58.618 --> 00:36:01.354
Striking airfields and command posts
00:36:01.354 --> 00:36:04.123
Early in the morning
00:36:04.123 --> 00:36:05.524
And smashing most of egypt's air force
00:36:05.524 --> 00:36:08.361
On the ground within hours, seizing the skies on day one.
00:36:08.361 --> 00:36:13.699
The list goes on.
00:36:13.699 --> 00:36:15.234
In 1976, the entebbe rescue,
00:36:15.234 --> 00:36:18.004
Also called operation thunderbolt,
00:36:18.004 --> 00:36:20.973
Saw israeli commandos fly 2,500 miles
00:36:20.973 --> 00:36:25.177
Overnight to uganda,
00:36:25.177 --> 00:36:27.513
Hit the terminal in a 90-minute assault
00:36:27.513 --> 00:36:30.349
And bring home more than 100 hostages
00:36:30.349 --> 00:36:33.419
Through planning, deception, and speed.
00:36:33.419 --> 00:36:36.889
Then in 2018, mossad teams slipped into a guarded warehouse
00:36:36.889 --> 00:36:41.560
Near tehran and hauled out
00:36:41.560 --> 00:36:44.030
Over 100,000 top-secret documents
00:36:44.030 --> 00:36:48.034
That exposed the true scope
00:36:48.034 --> 00:36:50.569
Of iran's nuclear weapons program.
00:36:50.569 --> 00:36:53.239
Those same methods, years of patient penetration
00:36:53.239 --> 00:36:57.476
And preparation, then minutes of decisive action,
00:36:57.476 --> 00:37:01.447
Set the stage for the elimination of hezbollah leader
00:37:01.447 --> 00:37:05.418
Hassan nasrallah in late 2024.
00:37:05.418 --> 00:37:08.688
Israeli intelligence mapped hezbollah's
00:37:09.522 --> 00:37:12.191
Underground headquarters buried deep
00:37:12.191 --> 00:37:14.560
Under beirut's southern suburb.
00:37:14.560 --> 00:37:16.629
Then in a single perfectly timed airstrike,
00:37:16.629 --> 00:37:20.499
They collapsed it, killing nasrallah
00:37:20.499 --> 00:37:22.935
And his senior command, shocking hezbollah and the world.
00:37:22.935 --> 00:37:27.740
This is israel's advantage,
00:37:27.740 --> 00:37:30.009
Brilliant minds turning intelligence into outcomes.
00:37:30.009 --> 00:37:34.947
And today, mati shoshani is sitting down
00:37:34.947 --> 00:37:37.616
With one of those brilliant israeli minds.
00:37:37.616 --> 00:37:40.386
You are lieutenant colonel j.
00:37:41.053 --> 00:37:43.456
You're responsible for intelligence
00:37:43.456 --> 00:37:45.257
In israel's northern command. -yeah, that's right.
00:37:45.257 --> 00:37:47.727
Can you explain to myself and everyone else
00:37:47.727 --> 00:37:49.795
Who doesn't know what that means
00:37:49.795 --> 00:37:51.397
What it is you actually do? -so in my current position,
00:37:51.397 --> 00:37:54.734
I'm in charge of several dozens of young officers and soldiers,
00:37:54.734 --> 00:38:00.573
And together we are responsible
00:38:00.573 --> 00:38:02.475
For creating the entire intelligence daily analysis,
00:38:02.475 --> 00:38:07.413
Which we provide to our senior commanders
00:38:07.413 --> 00:38:11.050
And to our forces on the ground.
00:38:11.050 --> 00:38:13.686
Tell me what a day of intelligence looks like.
00:38:13.686 --> 00:38:16.355
Different kind of data comes into our system
00:38:16.355 --> 00:38:19.492
From various different sources, whether it's human intelligence,
00:38:19.492 --> 00:38:24.497
Technological sources, and other sources that we have.
00:38:24.497 --> 00:38:28.234
We have to describe the entire image
00:38:28.234 --> 00:38:32.304
In order for our senior commanders
00:38:32.304 --> 00:38:34.306
And the forces on the ground
00:38:34.306 --> 00:38:36.108
To make the best decision based on our intelligence.
00:38:36.108 --> 00:38:40.579
The relationship between a decision maker
00:38:40.579 --> 00:38:43.616
And an intelligence officer,
00:38:43.616 --> 00:38:45.284
I can say it's a very delicate one.
00:38:45.284 --> 00:38:47.219
It's based on my commander and his trust
00:38:47.219 --> 00:38:50.890
That i know what's important for him to know.
00:38:50.890 --> 00:38:54.093
I do believe intelligence is art.
00:38:54.093 --> 00:38:57.062
It's not science, meaning that i haven't seen
00:38:57.062 --> 00:39:00.733
Any kind of supercomputer
00:39:00.733 --> 00:39:03.369
Which is able to do what human beings are doing
00:39:03.369 --> 00:39:07.139
Regarding intelligence.
00:39:07.139 --> 00:39:08.974
We're talking about northern command,
00:39:08.974 --> 00:39:10.743
And on october the 8th,
00:39:10.743 --> 00:39:12.244
Our greatest enemy within this neighborhood,
00:39:12.244 --> 00:39:14.814
Which is hezbollah, the biggest proxy,
00:39:14.814 --> 00:39:17.450
The best funded proxy,
00:39:17.450 --> 00:39:18.918
The strongest proxy of the iranian islamic regime,
00:39:18.918 --> 00:39:22.588
They also joined the war.
00:39:22.588 --> 00:39:24.256
So what happens to you? where are you on october the 8th?
00:39:24.256 --> 00:39:26.859
And what does northern command sort of
00:39:26.859 --> 00:39:28.127
See that day develop into?
00:39:28.127 --> 00:39:30.262
On october 8th, i was in the general hq
00:39:30.262 --> 00:39:34.366
Of the idi, of the israel defense intelligence.
00:39:34.366 --> 00:39:37.203
My main goal was actually to understand
00:39:37.203 --> 00:39:40.906
When, how, and if lebanese hezbollah
00:39:40.906 --> 00:39:43.843
Is going to operate against israel.
00:39:43.843 --> 00:39:46.912
On october 8th, in the morning,
00:39:46.912 --> 00:39:49.415
Several dozens of rockets were fired to mount dov.
00:39:49.415 --> 00:39:53.352
We retaliated.
00:39:53.352 --> 00:39:54.887
Lebanese hezbollah fired several rockets again,
00:39:54.887 --> 00:39:58.491
And then it actually ended.
00:39:58.491 --> 00:40:00.326
These rocket launchers actually proved
00:40:00.326 --> 00:40:03.963
That israel is willing to retaliate.
00:40:03.963 --> 00:40:07.766
No matter what happens in other places,
00:40:07.766 --> 00:40:10.135
Such as gaza, we are standing strong in the north.
00:40:10.135 --> 00:40:13.372
If lebanese hezbollah decides to open a new front,
00:40:13.372 --> 00:40:18.043
We would operate in this new front.
00:40:18.043 --> 00:40:20.412
After those fired rockets,
00:40:20.412 --> 00:40:22.448
We did see something that troubled us.
00:40:22.448 --> 00:40:25.584
A large number of radwan operatives
00:40:25.584 --> 00:40:29.421
Moving closer and closer to the border with israel.
00:40:29.421 --> 00:40:33.125
They had this grand plan of conquering,
00:40:33.125 --> 00:40:36.295
Of infiltrating into israel.
00:40:36.295 --> 00:40:38.631
They moved from north of the litani river
00:40:38.631 --> 00:40:41.734
To the south, which means they are getting ready
00:40:41.734 --> 00:40:45.271
For something.
00:40:45.271 --> 00:40:47.439
This is the reason why the senior commanders
00:40:48.374 --> 00:40:50.509
Of the idf made the decision to evacuate
00:40:50.509 --> 00:40:53.679
The israeli population close to the border.
00:40:53.679 --> 00:40:56.148
We made this very, very dramatic u curve.
00:40:57.016 --> 00:41:01.654
And if the beginning of the war was
00:41:01.654 --> 00:41:03.155
How did we not know about gaza?
00:41:03.155 --> 00:41:05.090
It continued with a very long series
00:41:05.090 --> 00:41:08.127
Of an upward tick of i can't believe
00:41:08.127 --> 00:41:10.996
We knew this about hezbollah command.
00:41:10.996 --> 00:41:13.532
I can't believe we pinpointed hassan nasrallah.
00:41:13.532 --> 00:41:15.634
I can't believe the pager operation.
00:41:15.634 --> 00:41:17.670
I can't believe... and the list goes on
00:41:17.670 --> 00:41:19.071
And on and on and on.
00:41:19.071 --> 00:41:20.506
What level of knowledge do we have about that person?
00:41:20.506 --> 00:41:23.609
Nasrallah or someone similar to him?
00:41:23.609 --> 00:41:25.544
What does he think we know about him?
00:41:25.544 --> 00:41:27.346
And what do we truly know about what he's doing?
00:41:27.346 --> 00:41:30.249
When lebanese hezbollah operatives,
00:41:31.050 --> 00:41:33.152
Specifically the senior leaders,
00:41:33.152 --> 00:41:34.954
Were in their position for 20, 25, even 30 years,
00:41:34.954 --> 00:41:38.958
You get pretty familiar with
00:41:38.958 --> 00:41:40.492
What their daily routine looks like.
00:41:40.492 --> 00:41:42.661
The northern command, the entire intelligence community.
00:41:42.661 --> 00:41:46.231
We were focused on lebanese hezbollah
00:41:46.231 --> 00:41:48.601
A day after the 2006 war ended.
00:41:48.601 --> 00:41:51.904
We actually started the events in lebanon
00:41:51.904 --> 00:41:54.773
With 20 years or so of knowledge.
00:41:54.773 --> 00:41:57.710
And yeah, there were huge successes.
00:41:57.710 --> 00:42:00.412
I should mention that some of them
00:42:00.412 --> 00:42:02.681
Are intelligence-based successes.
00:42:02.681 --> 00:42:04.950
Some of them are only based
00:42:04.950 --> 00:42:06.485
On the courage and the spirit of the forces,
00:42:06.485 --> 00:42:09.922
Of the fighters, of the troops on ground.
00:42:09.922 --> 00:42:13.325
Let's talk about one of these big operations,
00:42:13.325 --> 00:42:15.761
The pager attack.
00:42:15.761 --> 00:42:16.962
I'll paint a picture.
00:42:16.962 --> 00:42:18.397
There's a day and all of a sudden,
00:42:18.397 --> 00:42:20.899
Hezbollah operatives in markets and stores
00:42:20.899 --> 00:42:23.469
And command rooms all over lebanon
00:42:23.469 --> 00:42:26.205
Take pagers that are vibrating in their pockets
00:42:26.205 --> 00:42:28.574
Or in their vest pouches, and those little pagers
00:42:28.574 --> 00:42:31.043
Start blowing up.
00:42:31.043 --> 00:42:32.344
And they eliminate a lot of the,
00:42:32.344 --> 00:42:34.079
Let's call it, the tactical commanders of hezbollah,
00:42:34.079 --> 00:42:36.849
Along with several others who were not yet eliminated,
00:42:36.849 --> 00:42:39.785
Many others more.
00:42:39.785 --> 00:42:40.819
And the global media
00:42:40.819 --> 00:42:42.154
Is flooded with images
00:42:42.154 --> 00:42:43.989
Of countless hezbollah terrorists,
00:42:43.989 --> 00:42:46.558
Let's call them by name, in hospitals, in medical care,
00:42:46.558 --> 00:42:49.895
With fingers blown off, ears blown off, deceased, etc.
00:42:49.895 --> 00:42:54.466
An unimaginable blow, one to their ego,
00:42:54.466 --> 00:42:57.936
Two to their understanding of how far
00:42:57.936 --> 00:42:59.772
We penetrated into the organization.
00:42:59.772 --> 00:43:01.540
What does the day after look like for hezbollah?
00:43:01.540 --> 00:43:04.543
The day of what is known as the pager attack
00:43:04.543 --> 00:43:06.945
Or the pager operation comes after a day
00:43:06.945 --> 00:43:10.249
That israel actually declares a new target for the war,
00:43:10.249 --> 00:43:13.585
Which is to bring the israeli civilians
00:43:13.585 --> 00:43:16.188
Back to their homes in the north.
00:43:16.188 --> 00:43:17.890
The pager operation occurs, and a day afterwards
00:43:17.890 --> 00:43:21.627
Is the walkie-talkie operation,
00:43:21.627 --> 00:43:23.629
Approximately 24 hours afterwards.
00:43:23.629 --> 00:43:26.799
There is just chaos, just chaos in lebanese hezbollah.
00:43:26.799 --> 00:43:31.737
It's not safe in their eyes
00:43:32.404 --> 00:43:34.740
To speak with your commander.
00:43:34.740 --> 00:43:37.009
You are probably wounded.
00:43:37.009 --> 00:43:38.711
And this chaos is actually crossing
00:43:38.711 --> 00:43:41.046
The entire organization, meaning that it takes place
00:43:41.046 --> 00:43:44.183
Both on the senior leadership and on the field operation.
00:43:44.183 --> 00:43:48.353
Earlier today, the idf attacked in beirut...
00:43:48.353 --> 00:43:51.590
Two days afterwards,
00:43:51.590 --> 00:43:52.958
We eliminate senior leaders of radwan,
00:43:52.958 --> 00:43:55.961
The head of operations of lebanese hezbollah,
00:43:55.961 --> 00:43:58.030
Ibrahim aqil, and several others of his senior commanders
00:43:58.030 --> 00:44:01.700
And senior allies.
00:44:01.700 --> 00:44:03.402
Several days later, we have a very successful strike
00:44:03.402 --> 00:44:06.739
Against the entire fire arsenal
00:44:06.739 --> 00:44:09.241
Of lebanese hezbollah.
00:44:09.241 --> 00:44:10.743
Several days later, we eliminate hassan nasrallah
00:44:10.743 --> 00:44:13.712
In his bunker in beirut.
00:44:13.712 --> 00:44:15.848
What is known as the pager attack,
00:44:16.615 --> 00:44:18.617
Or the pager operation, actually marks the beginning
00:44:18.617 --> 00:44:22.254
Of a series of strikes against lebanese hezbollah,
00:44:22.254 --> 00:44:27.192
Which took place up until october 1st, 2024,
00:44:27.192 --> 00:44:32.197
When we started our field deployment.
00:44:32.197 --> 00:44:37.336
At the time that you and i are speaking,
00:44:38.203 --> 00:44:41.206
Israeli forces are actually free to operate
00:44:41.206 --> 00:44:44.610
Almost anywhere in lebanon.
00:44:44.610 --> 00:44:46.345
It's something that didn't happen before october 7th.
00:44:46.345 --> 00:44:49.848
Nowadays, we can operate
00:44:49.848 --> 00:44:52.918
Wherever and whenever we find a threat
00:44:52.918 --> 00:44:55.754
Which we want to eliminate.
00:44:55.754 --> 00:44:57.756
So, i have a huge question mark in my head.
00:44:57.756 --> 00:45:00.225
They had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity
00:45:00.225 --> 00:45:03.095
Where they caught us with our pants down,
00:45:03.095 --> 00:45:05.297
And everyone, including the idf,
00:45:05.297 --> 00:45:06.632
Was waiting for them to take action,
00:45:06.632 --> 00:45:08.567
And it didn't come. -about a week after october 7th,
00:45:08.567 --> 00:45:12.104
Give or take, the previous leader of lebanese hezbollah,
00:45:12.104 --> 00:45:15.107
Hassan nasrallah, had a speech.
00:45:15.107 --> 00:45:17.509
It was broadcasted all over lebanon.
00:45:17.509 --> 00:45:20.546
The main thing that he said in his speech
00:45:20.546 --> 00:45:24.349
Is that october 7th, of course,
00:45:24.349 --> 00:45:26.518
Is a blessed operation and so on,
00:45:26.518 --> 00:45:30.022
But it's a palestinian issue.
00:45:30.022 --> 00:45:31.924
He actually told them, you took your chance.
00:45:31.924 --> 00:45:34.293
You did what you did. we are not with you.
00:45:34.293 --> 00:45:37.462
You are on your own.
00:45:37.462 --> 00:45:39.364
I think that what happened on october 7th
00:45:39.364 --> 00:45:40.966
And october 8th is that the element of surprise
00:45:40.966 --> 00:45:43.335
Was actually disrupted by the palestinians
00:45:43.335 --> 00:45:46.405
In gaza, by hamas.
00:45:46.405 --> 00:45:47.840
Lebanese hezbollah actually had to make new plans
00:45:47.840 --> 00:45:50.776
In order to adjust to the new situation.
00:45:50.776 --> 00:45:54.780
I know what i know about hezbollah.
00:45:54.780 --> 00:45:56.615
I'm interested to hear your perspective.
00:45:56.615 --> 00:45:58.417
Who is this fighting force that we've been told about
00:45:58.417 --> 00:46:00.419
For a generation at this point?
00:46:00.419 --> 00:46:02.187
We always describe lebanese hezbollah operatives
00:46:02.187 --> 00:46:05.991
In different fields, fighters, logistics, and so on,
00:46:05.991 --> 00:46:09.261
As people who are operating
00:46:09.261 --> 00:46:12.698
From an extreme religious-based incentive.
00:46:12.698 --> 00:46:16.401
They knew that they were going to get killed
00:46:16.401 --> 00:46:19.104
And yet they were operating under a deep understanding
00:46:19.104 --> 00:46:23.075
Of shiite belief that israel should be
00:46:23.075 --> 00:46:27.212
Wiped off the map.
00:46:27.212 --> 00:46:28.680
Israel and jews can't live in peace in the middle east
00:46:28.680 --> 00:46:33.085
And the state of israel shouldn't exist.
00:46:33.085 --> 00:46:35.120
And it's a deep belief. it's not just something
00:46:35.120 --> 00:46:37.122
They indoctrinated during their practices.
00:46:37.122 --> 00:46:40.826
It's from school.
00:46:40.826 --> 00:46:42.094
When we made our deployment into lebanon,
00:46:42.094 --> 00:46:45.063
We did find many school books.
00:46:45.063 --> 00:46:48.000
And in many of those school books,
00:46:48.000 --> 00:46:51.103
We did find one main agenda,
00:46:51.103 --> 00:46:54.206
That america is the big enemy, israel is the small enemy.
00:46:54.206 --> 00:46:58.343
And this is something that they teach
00:46:58.343 --> 00:47:00.646
From a young age.
00:47:00.646 --> 00:47:03.415
How much of a footprint do they still have
00:47:04.283 --> 00:47:05.984
After this war? -lebanese hezbollah
00:47:05.984 --> 00:47:08.954
Was not completely destroyed.
00:47:08.954 --> 00:47:11.189
The iranians are still trying to rebuild this organization
00:47:11.189 --> 00:47:15.427
That they put billions of dollars
00:47:15.427 --> 00:47:18.030
Throughout the years and they didn't give up
00:47:18.030 --> 00:47:21.066
On this organization.
00:47:21.066 --> 00:47:22.401
Moderate groups in lebanon are becoming
00:47:22.401 --> 00:47:25.671
More and more prominent all over lebanon
00:47:25.671 --> 00:47:27.639
And even closer to the israeli border.
00:47:27.639 --> 00:47:30.609
Lebanese forces are actually going and seizing
00:47:30.609 --> 00:47:33.445
And capturing weapons and other equipment
00:47:33.445 --> 00:47:37.182
From lebanese hezbollah. it's something that
00:47:37.182 --> 00:47:39.017
Was never done before.
00:47:39.017 --> 00:47:40.919
Nowadays, i think that the people of lebanon,
00:47:40.919 --> 00:47:44.389
Most of them,
00:47:44.389 --> 00:47:45.524
They do understand that stability
00:47:45.524 --> 00:47:47.926
And even prosperity is something that's possible.
00:47:47.926 --> 00:47:50.929
But again, only time can tell
00:47:50.929 --> 00:47:52.831
Whether stability is something that's possible.
00:47:52.831 --> 00:47:55.500
Final question for you.
00:47:56.001 --> 00:47:57.903
How do we avoid another october 7th catastrophe?
00:47:57.903 --> 00:48:01.073
I think what october 7th actually taught
00:48:01.073 --> 00:48:04.576
Everyone in the intelligence
00:48:04.576 --> 00:48:07.279
Is don't try to predict the future.
00:48:07.279 --> 00:48:10.749
Try to think of all the different outcomes
00:48:10.749 --> 00:48:14.019
And different futures possible.
00:48:14.019 --> 00:48:16.021
It helps me every day
00:48:16.021 --> 00:48:18.991
To fire up my imagination
00:48:18.991 --> 00:48:21.393
And try to think about the worst case scenario
00:48:21.393 --> 00:48:24.629
And try to think
00:48:24.629 --> 00:48:26.198
How do we get to this worst case scenario
00:48:26.198 --> 00:48:30.802
And now what we need to find out
00:48:30.802 --> 00:48:32.404
And what we have to do to avoid this kind of scenario.
00:48:32.404 --> 00:48:35.941
Thank you very much, lieutenant colonel j.,
00:48:35.941 --> 00:48:39.378
For opening up this very secretive world
00:48:39.378 --> 00:48:41.580
To our viewers.
00:48:41.580 --> 00:48:43.215
Thank you.
00:48:43.515 --> 00:48:45.550
In israel, men and women don't live
00:48:46.284 --> 00:48:49.254
Like most of us in the u.s. or the rest of the west.
00:48:49.254 --> 00:48:53.325
At 18, young israelis enlist.
00:48:53.325 --> 00:48:56.461
Men for about three years, women for two.
00:48:56.461 --> 00:49:00.132
No gap year detours for parties and world travel.
00:49:00.132 --> 00:49:05.070
No straight to campus. service comes first.
00:49:05.070 --> 00:49:09.374
Talent and training are the tools.
00:49:09.374 --> 00:49:11.843
Covenant and calling are the flame.
00:49:11.843 --> 00:49:14.312
That's why even in the hardest nights,
00:49:14.312 --> 00:49:17.015
Hope lives here.
00:49:17.015 --> 00:49:20.452
Stay with us because next time
00:49:21.153 --> 00:49:23.055
We're stepping into the wellspring of that hope.
00:49:23.055 --> 00:49:26.024
The incredible innovation that keeps rising
00:49:26.024 --> 00:49:28.794
From this land, especially in medicine.
00:49:28.794 --> 00:49:31.930
Discoveries forged through hardship,
00:49:31.930 --> 00:49:34.399
Refined in war, and going on to bless
00:49:34.399 --> 00:49:37.803
Not just israel, but the world.
00:49:37.803 --> 00:49:37.803

By Wise Counsel Thou Shalt Make Thy War | Heroes of October 7th and Beyond

April 2, 2026 | S1 E4 | 49:46

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