The “Iron Swords” war broke out in the early morning hours of October 7—fifty years and one day from the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The number of Jews killed was the most on one day since the Holocaust and Israelis have witnessed atrocities that they never thought would be repeated. MediaCentral was the first to help foreign journalists in the country get updated on what exactly was going on with a Zoom conference just hours after the war erupted. We have continued to follow the resulting military operations and have assisted the more than one thousand reporters who have been sent to the region to cover the events.
Oct. 7: Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland
In the immediate hours after the beginning of the Hamas terror attack, MediaCentral got the first strategic analysis to the foreign press when we put the former head of Israel’s National Security Council Maj. Gen. (ret.) Giora Eiland on a Zoom call.
Oct. 7: Dr. Eyal Hulata
Twelve hours after the horrific details started to emerge, Israel declared a state of war – Operation Iron Swords. MediaCentral hosted the former national security advisor and the head of the National Security Council, Dr. Eyal Huluta.
Oct. 8: Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror
On day two of Iron Swords, National Security Advisor and head of the NSC, Maj. Gen. (res.) Yaakov Amidror shared his strategic analysis of the IDF’s actions.
Oct. 9: Lt. Col. David Wurmser
Lt. Col. David Wurmser, the Middle East advisor to former US Vice President Dick Cheney, was visiting Israel when the war broke out. He spoke to media outlets about the implications for the region and the unwavering support for Israel from the United States.
Oct. 11: Maj. Gen. (res.) Eitan Dangot
The former Coordinator of the Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), Maj. Gen. (res.) Eitan Dangot, joined MediaCentral on a Zoom to share his expectations of the handling of the war efforts. Dangot was Military Secretary to three Ministers of Defense: Shaul Mofaz, Amir Peretz, and Ehud Barak.
Oct. 15: Dr. Liron Libman
After of week of intense fighting, news outlets from around the world started to ask if Israel was breaking humanitarian laws and the laws of war, and what constitutes a proportionate response to the Hamas massacres. IDF legal expert Col. (res.) Dr. Liron Libman addressed these and other questions surrounding Israel’s military operations.
Oct. 16: Dr. Adi Schwartz
Ten days into the war and the welfare of hostages captured by Hamas occupied the minds of everyone worldwide. Dr Adi Schwartz, a specialist in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict spoke about negotiations for their release and who should be managing these talks.
Oct. 18: Jacob (Yaki) Dayan
US President Joe Biden arrived in Israel in a show of support for the country and to weigh in on planned military action. Former consul general in Los Angeles and an expert on Israel-US relations spoke with the press about the first visit of an American President during wartime.
