Former Israeli Navy commander Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eliezer ‘Cheney’ Marom criticized the IDF's internal probes on the security failures of October 7 in a Friday interview on 103FM radio, stating that "there was heavy documentation of what happened, but the 'why' was missing."
Marom, who most recently served as coordinator for the North under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, told 103FM that he "sat 12 hours last week to hear all of the findings from the probes. There were about 20 people in a small room. There was heavy documentation of what transpired, of 'what happened,' but the 'why' was missing."
The former general explained there were two main reasons the IDF was ill-prepared for Hamas's invasion and subsequent massacre on October 7.
"The first (reason) is the organizational culture - something went wrong," Marom said.
"Basic protocols like carrying out proper patrols, adhering to operational principles, these aspects have been slowly degrading over the years within the military."
Former general says remote work, 'cellular culture' caused Oct. 7
The second reason, Marom said, was the "culture of the military cellular phone.
"The phone allows conference calls, which the military is using more and more. Commanders are leading the military remotely, and the war rooms are empty."
Marom also lowered expectations of drastic change under new IDF Chief-of-Staff Eyal Zamir, saying, "It is not as if the Messiah has arrived and he will be to pull a rabbit out of a hat. The IDF is a massive organization, a large ship that turns very slowly."
However, Marom added, "I think the new chief came with a prepared list of what he wants to do and what he needs to do." The former Navy chief also praised Zamir's decision to reevaluate the IDF probes already released to the public.
"There is a reason to re-open some of the probes. In all of them, the 'what' is often followed by why the failure was not as big as perceived."