Specialists in the IDF believe the crux of the second wave is still ahead of us • Therefore, many people wondered this week what price Israel should pay, so that the war in Corona goes to the security system

A few weeks ago, senior IDF leaders led by Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi gathered for a seminar in the Galilee camp. At issue: Summary and lessons learned from the first Corona wave.

"If we act quickly and quickly, we will stop the deterioration." Left to right: Gantz, Kish, Edelstein and Home Front Command Commander Uri Gordin // Photo: Ariel Hermoni / Ministry of Defense

All the bodies that were part of this campaign stabilized, and, as the IDF has done, transparently detailed what worked and what worked less. At the end of the day came the summation phase. Alongside tactical lessons, the main insight that emerged was that there was a national problem of command and control; There will be a regular process that will interrupt the chain of infection and keep Israel at a reasonable level of morbidity.

No civil body has a similar internal investigation. It is not the National Security Council that coordinates crisis management, neither the Ministry of Health, nor other agencies. Had they been investigated, they might have been preceded by a blow to Mecca, and they may have curbed the erosion in which Israel is currently, or at least are preparing for it.

In closed talks (and at least) this week, the defense establishment wondered what price Israel would have to pay until the requested decision was made: to start the event, and as part of this, to pass on the logistical management of the Corona crisis to the IDF. He even sent a letter at the time, which was revealed in "Israel Today", which offered to accept responsibility for managing the crisis. 

It's the IDF's DNA and the security system: getting under a stretcher. Certainly when it comes to war, and nowadays no one seems to disagree that the Corona is a war - health, economic, national.

It did not happen then, either for professional reasons (the Ministry of Health opposed), for political reasons (Netanyahu-Bent rival), or for practical reasons (the difficult steps taken proved, and the big crisis avoided). The problem is that Israel did not win the Corona at the time; She defeated herself. Exiting the closure was too fast, and worse - the time it took was not to make the right infrastructure to deal with the current wave, which is much larger than its predecessor.

Noma is ready, not on any terms

Three weeks ago, on Saturday, it was reported that the Intelligence Division's Information and Knowledge Center warned of a steep rise in the number of people infected with the virus. This body was established as part of the National Dashboard with the aim of collecting and analyzing the accumulated data in Israel and around the world, in order to derive lessons and conclusions from them further.

The dramatic information was then seen as half a joke. Social networks have been wondering what these intelligence people want from our lives with their nonsense, and why they keep us from celebrating the return to normalcy. Unfortunately (or fortunately), intelligence personnel were right. At least you should listen to them now about the sequel.

Specialists in the IDF are convinced that Hegel's main issues are still ahead of us. With the current infection figures, numbers are still expected to rise - even for the difficult patients. To stop the erosion, take quick action: check far more people a day, check much faster, conduct effective epidemiological investigations Only Israel may be able to avoid returning to full closure, which could have a devastating economic impact on the economy.

This text - tests, investigations, isolation - has been heard by the defense establishment since March, regardless of the identity of the minister in charge. She backed it up with scriptures, statements, pleas. In essence, the IDF consistently seeks to take responsibility for this entire chain; utilize its unique logistics system and manpower at its disposal to provide immediate response to the problem.

The current Minister of Health Edelstein seems to understand this better than his predecessor, Litzman. Perhaps this is the fact that the current director of his office, Prof. Hezi Levy, was chief medical officer and familiar with the IDF's capabilities. The two visited the home front this week with the defense minister and the top of his office. Deputy Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, who accompanied them, simply told them: Here we are. Help us. He also approved the recruitment of hundreds of reservists for the reinforcement of the epidemiological investigations and a number of other positions designed to help the crisis.

In the meantime, these are plasters for treating severe illness. The Corona needs a manager. To one source of authority. To the Tsar. To someone who can guide all the factors - the IDF and the Ministry of Defense, the local authorities, the health funds, the treasury officials and more - and tell them what to do. In a real war, this is the Ministry of Defense; in the Corona War, it may be the Ministry of Health, but it can not run into a mess Current.

Edelstein understands this and offered the role to champion (res.) Ronnie Nome, who at the height of the previous wave volunteered to rescue Bnei Brak. Numa knows the business and is willing to volunteer (the same IDF DNA is still flowing in his veins), but he is not a sucker: he is clear that without receiving full authority, he has no chance of succeeding. He was able to see his friend, former Air Force Brigadier General (Res.) Uri Zeifert (Zippo), who came with a goodwill to set up the health ministry and left after realizing that everyone - including the Ministry of Health himself - was setting foot.

"We are in time for injuries," a senior official said on Tuesday. "We can still save the business. If we act correctly and quickly, we will stop the deterioration. What we do now will also prepare us for the next big wave, expected in winter." It requires delegating full powers and a system of management and decision-making, from the Corona Cabinet to outline policy, through the Ministry of Health to the lead to the IDF to execute. "If it doesn't happen right now, the price will be heavy. Both health and economic. "

Hebron sticks, Gaza is closed

The Corona that strikes in Israel also does not overlook the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. There, too, there is a sharp increase in patients. As of Tuesday, 4,505 active patients were registered in Hebron, of which 3,773 were in Hebron. In the Palestinian Authority, this is the result of the infection of Bedouin in the Negev; Israel, they are convinced, has exported the virus to them.

In light of the annexation intentions of territories in the West Bank as part of the Trump plan, the PA severed all ties with Israel. The Corona crisis may require her to return to coordination, certainly civilian, for fear of collapse. 

That's the good part. The bad part is that the economic crisis is also hitting residents of the West Bank. Their situation is deteriorating rapidly. Sometime they may erupt, frustration. This outrage may also be directed at us.

In fact, Gaza is quiet in the meantime (minus the rockets fired this week). Hamas is not interested in the conflict; It is only preoccupied with Corona - health and economic. Meanwhile, Hamas's iron policy proves itself: There were only 11 patients in Gaza yesterday. This happens as a result of a rigid locksmith (anyone who comes to the Strip from Egypt enters 21 days of isolation at a specially erected facility) and adheres to the guidelines. If there is also a surge in morbidity, the border will burn.