Israel was a divided nation before October 7, torn apart by mass demonstrations against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. However, the bitter determination to bring down the government drew support from more than half of the country, including former military officers and employees of high-tech companies which make up the backbone of the Israeli military industrial complex. The protests seemed to be close to achieving their goal until Hamas’s attack on October 7 caught everyone by surprise. The shock it inflicted on Israeli society can be traced back to the very creation of the Israeli nation. The building of the Israeli army began well before the creation of Israel, with various Zionist organizations secretly training and arming fighters. By the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, their ranks swelled to 120,000 troops, resulting in the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians. The army became the largest and most powerful institution in Israel and played a key role in creating a common national identity centered around conflict with the Palestinians and the Arab nations.
In the years that followed, the Israeli army evolved from a citizen army to a glorified colonial police force tasked with subjugating the Palestinian population. This transformation was further accelerated by peace agreements with Arab states, which allowed the army to focus more on suppressing Palestinians. The return of Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government’s aggressive policies towards the Palestinians led to an escalation of tensions, culminating in Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7. The attack exposed the shortcomings of the Israeli army, which struggled to launch a coordinated response and faced criticism for chaos and numerous mistakes. The attack shattered the confidence of Israelis in their army’s ability to protect them, marking a significant shift in the dynamics of the region.