On October 7, 2023, the Israeli government was caught unprepared. Hamas launched a surprise attack that exposed glaring failures in military readiness and government responsiveness. Border bases were understaffed and vulnerable, and intelligence blind spots had lulled leaders into complacency. The immediate military response was marked by confusion and delay. It took hours for a coordinated defense to materialize.
But if the military’s disarray was shocking, the civilian government’s response was worse. Government ministries were frozen. There were no clear contingency plans to shelter displaced families, no framework to provide emergency schooling for children, and no leadership from the agencies tasked with managing civilian welfare in crisis.
Into that vacuum stepped private citizens, nonprofits, and local volunteers who scrambled to house evacuees, deliver supplies, and fill the void left by a paralyzed state.
While the specifics of the October 7 attack may have taken military leaders by surprise, the general idea of a major regional crisis in the Middle East – whether involving Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran – is hardly unprecedented. It is the kind of risk any responsible government must factor into long-term civilian contingency planning. And yet, time and again, that planning has been absent.
Government is unprepared once again
Fast forward to June 13, when Israel, by its own account, initiated a meticulously planned military operation targeting Iranian assets. This was not a surprise. It was a deliberate act, taken after months of planning, in full awareness of the potential for regional escalation. And yet, once again, the government was unprepared – not for the war, but for its consequences.
The closure of Israel’s airspace was entirely foreseeable. If one Houthi missile could disrupt a flight corridor, what would barrages from Hezbollah or Iran do to flights? The National Security Council and the Transportation Ministry should have had a clear, coordinated plan for repatriating citizens stranded abroad.
Where were the emergency air corridors? Where were the maritime evacuations? Where was the basic public information infrastructure to guide people through the crisis?
Instead, stranded Israelis – parents separated from children, elderly people without access to critical medication, business owners missing vital obligations – were left scrambling, as they are again now after the US bombings last night.
El Al dumped passengers in Cyprus without answers. A very small minority of travelers, those who could afford the cost and risk, cobbled together makeshift routes through Amman, Sharm el-Sheikh, and Aqaba. Some, like myself, found seats on commercial ferries or private boats.
I arrived in Haifa after an 18-hour tugboat journey from Limassol, only to be told by port officials that no process was in place to receive us. Only when we refused to reboard the vessel did someone begin improvising a solution.
Government has a duty to serve its people
This is not a matter of Left or Right, of hawks or doves. This is about the fundamental duty of a government to serve its people. It is the job of public officials – not volunteers, not nonprofits – to plan, prepare, and care for citizens in moments of crisis.
When governments make decisions with massive civilian implications, such as closing airspace, initiating war, or restricting markets, they also take on the responsibility to mitigate those consequences.
It’s not enough to plan airstrikes. You must also plan evacuations. You must coordinate between ministries. You must maintain public websites with up-to-date instructions. You must, quite simply, do your job.
But too many ministries today function like political launchpads and personal perks machines. For some ministers, the office is a photo-op, not a position of service. When asked about stranded citizens, Transportation Minister Miri Regev effectively shrugged and said: “You’re abroad. Enjoy your extended vacation.” That is not leadership. That is contempt.
Miri Regev – we are not on vacation. We are trying to get home to our families, to our jobs, to our lives. We are the ones footing the bill for your office, staff, and driver. It is not too much to ask that you treat that responsibility with the seriousness it deserves.
Military historians can argue over tactics. The intelligence failures will be dissected by experts. But this isn’t about military strategy. This is about the human cost of a government that fails to plan for the needs of its own people. In October 2023, the state was caught by surprise. In June 2025, it had no such excuse.
The government’s failure this time wasn’t just a lack of planning or preparedness; it was a failure of compassion and humility. If you cannot prepare, if you cannot coordinate, if you cannot care, then maybe it’s time to make way for those who can.
The writer is the chief investment officer of a private investment company and a former economics editor at The Jerusalem Post.