October 7 Survivor Warns Gaza Withdrawal Could Allow Hamas to ‘Repeat October 7’

Former MK and Be’eri resident Haim Yellin, who survived the October 7 massacre, warned that withdrawing the IDF while Hamas retains any meaningful foothold in Gaza could recreate the very conditions that allowed the terrorist group to carry out its attack.

Reacting to the 15-point Gaza plan calling for an Israeli withdrawal, Yellin said residents of the border communities cannot be asked to return to an “October 6 reality” in which Hamas rebuilds behind the border while Israel relies on agreements and deterrence. “They can go from zero to 100 and repeat October 7 even if they control only 10% of the territory,” he warned.

Yellin recalled warning Israeli leaders years before October 7 that attacks from Gaza would escalate, only to see those concerns dismissed. He argued that Hamas cannot be trusted to voluntarily disarm: “There cannot be an agreement in which Hamas remains there… They will rebuild everything from scratch.”

While praising President Donald Trump’s support for Israel, Yellin stressed that Israel’s government must ultimately determine the security conditions along its own border. For the devastated communities now rebuilding, he said, the central question is not simply whether residents can return home — but what kind of Gaza will be waiting across the fence when they do.