IDF Chief Visits Gaza-Border Surveillance Soldiers, Cites Duty to 'Listen Carefully' as Oct. 7 Lesson

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir visited female surveillance soldiers of the 414th Combat Intelligence Collection Unit at Re'im Base on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, telling them 'you are our eyes on the front, the first to identify infiltration threats and activate forces' and that 'one of the lessons of October 7 is that we must listen carefully to every female and male soldier as part of assessments and the decision-making process.' The visit followed renewed complaints from surveillance soldiers — some of whom attribute the dismissal to sexism — that warnings they raised about current Gaza-border threats are again being brushed aside, echoing accounts that spotters' alerts about Hamas's October 7 attack preparations went unheeded before the assault.