Note from our Editor-in-Chief: As part of our week of coverage to mark the three years since the horrific October 7 attack on Israel and the Israeli genocide in Gaza that followed, we thought you might find my interview with the former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed a worthwhile watch, so we are republishing it here at Zeteo UK. If you’re not already a paid subscriber, become one today to get full access to all of Zeteo UK’s October 7 coverage and more. – Mehdi
Three years ago, the world was left stunned by Hamas’s brutal and horrific surprise attack on Israel, in which the militant group killed over 1,000 Israelis and kidnapped over 250 people.
Yet, as details emerged about warnings that went ignored and the military’s slow response to the October 7 attack, many began to ask – how much of a surprise attack was this?
“It’s quite clear that Mr. Netanyahu had been warned more than once,” former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed says to Mehdi.
In this ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ interview, Mehdi asks Melamed – who has served in various intelligence and counterterrorism positions for the Israeli government – some of the most crucial questions that have come out about Israel’s apparent lack of preparation around the October 7 attack, including:
Why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the UAE president’s warning about an impending Hamas attack just 10 days before October 7
Why Israeli military and intelligence officials downplayed Hamas’s battle plan, obtained a year before the attack
His reaction to Hillary Clinton’s and the late Charlie Kirk’s questions and speculation around Israel’s lack of preparation
Netanyahu’s refusal to do an internal investigation of his government’s handling of the attack
Whether he concedes that Israel’s war on Gaza was an operational failure
Mehdi also brings the receipts and presses Melamed on whether he believes Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.
Paid subscribers can watch the full 52-minute video above. Free subscribers can watch a 2-minute preview. Consider becoming a paid subscriber to unlock content like this and a lot more from Zeteo UK. And if you’re currently only a Zeteo UK subscriber but want to get more content like this from Zeteo as well, consider upgrading to our bundle option.
Check out Zeteo’s other recent stories:
