While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, Katz & Bohbot

This book by two respected Israeli journalists is a vital examination of  the years before the 7th of October 2023. It is not playing a blame  game. They examine years of complacency, mistaken intelligence analysis,  and the belief that it was impossible. The dramatic events of the night  before the attack lay bare the overconfidence that led to the  catastrophe: the weaknesses of the political and military leadership  whose overconfidence and complacency played a decisive role. At 3:20  a.m. on the morning of October 7, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi wrote  on a slip of paper, "Don’t convince yourself that this is nothing.” But  it was too late. Not one terrorist entered Israel through a tunnel, not  one Israeli asset was on the ground in Gaza. The authors' conclusions on  preventing another October 7 are essential for anyone who really wants  to understand that it is not only the role of officials that may be  difficult to look at, but a culture of hubris. Katz and Bohbot do not  shy away from the terrible daily fear ordinary Israelis face with an  enemy so close. The chapter on the second intifada from 2000 to 2005 is a  chilling reminder. But the stories of heroism and sacrifice of ordinary  Israelis and soldiers are still unbelievable. Maybe you know the one  about Second Lieutenant Avichail Reuven, whose family immigrated from  Ethiopia. On October 7, "he pulled his wet uniform from the washing  machine, grabbed his weapon and ran eight miles to the Gaza border to  fight and save civilians." One thing that is so impressive in examining  this catastrophe is the individuals, military, civilian, political, who  are extraordinarily heroic even in a time of chaos and war.