A new book offers a rare look into Israel’s wartime decision-making, from October 7 to Rafah, the pager operation, Nasrallah’s elimination and Operation Roaring Lion.
The new book “In the War Room” reveals how Israel’s top leadership operated during nearly three years of war, based on real-time access to senior decision-makers in Israel and the US.
The authors, Wall Street Journal editor Elliott Kaufman and Jerusalem Post military correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob, spoke with most of the key figures involved, including Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Herzi Halevi, Jake Sullivan, Lloyd Austin and others.
One of the most striking points is the tense relationship between Netanyahu, Gallant and Halevi in the earliest and darkest hours after October 7. According to the book, Netanyahu already understood that Gallant wanted to strike Hezbollah in the north, but avoided speaking with him because he feared his opposition would leak and make him look hesitant.