IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said on the third anniversary of October 7 that "This week we are marking 53 years since the Yom Kippur War and three years since October 7 - two painful failures with a connecting thread between them. The lesson we all must learn is that the surprise scenario should concern all of us. Reality is constantly signaling to us, and it is our duty to recognize these signals." The remarks were made at the first training exercise of the new training division. The chief of staff added: "Over the past 20 years, we downsized the IDF; that trend has stopped. Our missions are growing, and the size of the military constitutes our strategic depth as a nation."