Ofer Winter Accuses Gadi Eisenkot of Fabricating Data to Avoid Gaza Operation
Reserve Brigadier General Ofer Winter accused former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot of fabricating data to mislead the political leadership and avoid military action in Gaza.
Reserve Brigadier General Ofer Winter has accused former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot of fabricating data and misleading the political leadership during his tenure to avoid a military operation in the Gaza Strip. Winter, who previously served as the military secretary to the minister of defense, raised the allegations before hundreds of activists, describing an incident he claimed occurred in October 2018 when Israel faced border riots and incendiary balloon terrorism.
"October 2018, Gadi Eisenkot is the Chief of Staff. Hamas is sending incendiary kites, exactly as it has started doing again," Winter said. According to him, the security cabinet decided at the time that in the event of an escalation, the prime minister and the defense minister would be authorized to order a strike in Gaza.
Discrepancy Between Data and Public Statements
Winter described a Friday marked by border riots, claiming that the official IDF Spokesperson's statement published that day failed to reflect the severity of the events. "On one of the Fridays, which as usual featured riots at the fence, an IDF Spokesperson statement is released to the media: 'This was the quietest Friday in three months.' In the evening, when I tally the data, I see the exact opposite. This was the severest Friday in three months," he recounted.
According to Winter, the gap between the public statement and the data he reviewed was not accidental, but intended to influence the political leadership's decision-making. "Do you understand the madness? To lie to the political leadership, to manipulate reality as convenient — all to avoid a military strike in Gaza," he said.
"Do you understand the madness? To lie to the political leadership, to manipulate reality as convenient — all to avoid a military strike in Gaza," Winter stated.
The remarks come against the backdrop of strained relations and political rivalry between Winter and Eisenkot. However, Winter's allegations have not been independently verified, and no documents or data were presented during his remarks to substantiate whether the IDF Spokesperson's statement was indeed erroneous or what motives lay behind it.
