In an interview with Radio 103FM, Ron-Tal said that if Israel had entered Rafah at the start, the war would have ended within a month. He explained: "The question of why we did not enter Rafah is extremely important. In my opinion, it was a grave and strategic mistake by those who planned the assault on the Gaza Strip. The entry into Gaza from north to south using a folding strategy led to the most convenient defensive battle for Hamas. They move backward while we advance, leaving the breach open. Even now, we have not reached all the tunnels in this insane highway between Egypt and Rafah. They built us tunnels even while we were there. Imagine what happened in the twenty years we were not there."
He added: "The army was in such shock on October 7. There was no plan for occupying Gaza. There were plans to control it in one way or another, but not for an occupation of Gaza. The plan was executed quite hastily, and the mistakes made were a result of the trauma of October 7. If we had entered Rafah on the first day or within the first week, the war would have ended after a month. That was their lifeline."
Ron-Tal warned that the IDF's withdrawal from the border area with Egypt could be devastating for the region in the future: "In northern Sinai, there is equipment of staggering amounts waiting for the moment it can be brought through those tunnels into Gaza. The Egyptians have an interest, not just in aiding Hamas but an economic interest extending to Cairo." He continued, "All the weapons fired at us in recent years came through those tunnels. If we do not seal them hermetically, it will happen to us again. What stands between Hamas being unable to continue militarily and its continued existence in the near future is a strategic decision—to lock down Rafah so not even a fly can pass through."
He further added: "There is something even more serious: assuming we leave Philadelphi, if movement is detected coming from Egypt to Philadelphi, we will return and attack. Do you think that will work? That is the concept that led us to October 7. The most advanced, most lethal technological wall in the world is the wall through which the elite Nukhba fighters entered on crutches, on foot, and on tractors into Israel."
