Amid growing questions about Israel’s failure to anticipate an unprecedented Hamas attack, an Egyptian intelligence official said his country had repeatedly warned the Jewish state that “something big” was about to happen.
The official said Israeli officials had focused on their fight in the West Bank and dismissed threats from militant groups in Gaza.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is made up of supporters of West Bank settlers who have demanded tough action in the face of a rising wave of violence in the area over the past 18 months.
“We have warned them that the explosion of the situation is coming, and soon, and it will be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” the Egyptian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press.
Israel was caught red-handed before the attack by Hamas, whose terrorists broke through border barriers to launch brazen attacks that have so far killed at least 800 people and injured more than 2,000, with the number expected to rise.
“This is a huge failure,” said Yaakov Amidror, a former national security adviser to Netanyahu. “This operation actually proves that the (intelligence) capabilities in Gaza are not good.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other military leaders on October 8, 2023 after an attack from Hamas. GPO rockets fired by Hamas were intercepted by the Iron Dome defense system. Photo by EYAD BABA/AFP via Getty Images Israelis evacuate a family from Ashkelon after a Hamas rocket attack.AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov
He declined to give an explanation for the failure, saying lessons must be learned when military operations achieve their immediate goals.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s chief military spokesman, acknowledged that the military owed the public an explanation, but said now was not the time.
“First, we fight, then we investigate,” he said.
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Meanwhile, an Army Radio commentator on Sunday mentioned that the IDF chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, still did not speak directly to the public about the crisis and let his spokespeople ask the tough questions.
Palestinians board an Israeli military vehicle in Gaza after the attack.HAITHAM IMAD/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Israelis evacuate the site of a rocket attack in Ashkelon on October 9, 2023. AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg A building in Gaza City was hit by a counter-attack from Israel on October 7, 2023. Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images
Several family members of Israeli civilians still missing after the abduction also contacted the station and complained that no one from the government had contacted them.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
