While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East [Hardcover]

NOW A NATIONAL BESTSELLER!

Crisply written... draws on excellent sources within Israels military and intelligence services. The Wall Street Journal

A powerful indictment of the political and military decisions that led to October 7

While Israel Slepttells the gripping inside story of how Hamas, Israels weakest enemy, succeeded in launching a surprise attack on one of the worlds most powerful militaries. Through a detailed examination of the events leading up to October 7, 2023, the book exposes the intelligence and strategic failures that enabled this devastating invasion. It takes readers back in time, showing how years of complacency, mistaken intelligence analysis, and a misguided policy of containment enabled Hamas to prepare for an assault that Israel did not believe was possible and that would change the Middle East.

The book unveils the dramatic events of the night before the attack, highlighting the cracks in Israels military and political leadership. It provides unprecedented details on how key warnings were missed, and how Israel ignored the growing threat from Hamas, believing that the group was weak and deterred. By exposing these failures,While Israel Sleptoffers a stark, sobering account of how overconfidence and complacency paved the way for disaster, while underscoring the critical lessons Israel must embrace to safeguard its future.

Yaakov Katzis the former editor-in-chief ofThe Jerusalem Postand a senior fellow at JPPI, a global think tank for the Jewish people. He writes regularly forNewsweekand theJewish Chronicle, hosts the JPPI weekly podcast and is a frequent guest analyst on CNN and BBC. He is the author ofShadow Strikeand the co-author with Amir Bohbot ofWeapon Wizards.

Dr. Amir Bohbotis one of Israels leading military commentators, a lecturer at Ben Gurion University of the Negev, and a seniorlÓ%