Gadi Eisenkot says Israel had prepared a Lebanon plan far broader than the pager operation and argues Iran remains stronger than many assume
Former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot said that while serving as IDF chief of staff, he and the head of Mossad developed a major plan for Lebanon aimed at striking thousands of Hezbollah operatives.
He said the concept went far beyond the pager operation and also involved Hezbollah’s communications systems, including walkie-talkies, as part of a much broader plan.
Eisenkot also criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the Gaza war, saying Hamas still has roughly 30,000 fighters three years after October 7 and pledging that a government led by him would either dismantle or destroy Hamas.
On Iran, Eisenkot said Tehran is “much stronger than we think” and argued that anyone who believed air power alone could bring about regime change was mistaken.
He also defended targeting Iran’s top leadership, saying Ali Khamenei was not only a political leader but also commander-in-chief, and compared the principle to the hypothetical killing of Hitler.
On Gaza, Eisenkot said a full Israeli withdrawal could take years and would depend on Israel’s conditions being met.
He also rejected the idea of annexing the entire West Bank and incorporating around 2.5 million Palestinians into Israel, calling that “a very bad idea.”
