After the Hamas attack, Israel is discussing this question: How did intelligence collapse?

Israeli experts and analysts interpreted the so-called “Aqsa Flood” attack, launched by Hamas, which controls Gaza, on Saturday, October 7, as the “collapse of Israeli intelligence” and stated that this shock would have lasting effects.

With the attack launched on October 7, Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israel, infiltrated Jewish settlements on the Gaza border by ground and took many Israelis hostage. This attack, which took place at a time when Hamas was believed to be concerned about the economic situation in Gaza and had no intention of going to war with Israel, had a shocking effect on Israeli politicians and security forces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statements that “Hamas launched a sudden and deadly attack against Israel” were also described as a “rare confession.”

THE REACTION TO THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT IS GROWING

In its story published on October 7, the Israeli newspaper Maariv wrote that Hamas organized a surprise attack against Israel and that it was a major intelligence failure. The Yediot Ahronot newspaper assessed the Hamas attack as a government failure.

Israeli military analyst Avi Benayahu, in his article in the Maariv newspaper, stated that Israel is in a surprise war with characteristics it had never known, with many dead, wounded and kidnapped. Benayahu said, “Nothing like this has ever happened before in the history of Israel,” noting that they are in for a long, difficult, nerve-wracking period ahead.

David Horovitz, who called what happened “a great failure,” stated in his article in The Times of Israel: “50 years after the Yom Kippur War, Israel was attacked by Hamas, not by Arab armies, but by surprise “. “As Israel’s politicians went to an emergency meeting, criticism began to appear in the press that ‘Israel was once again taken by surprise while it was busy with internal affairs,'” he said.

‘A GREAT SHAME FOR ISRAEL’

Israeli experts also questioned the fact that Hamas carried out the infiltration operation, which was carried out with the participation of hundreds of people, without announcing it to anyone. Amos Harel, an analyst for the Haaretz newspaper, noted that the attack was a major failure that would cause political upheavals and continued as follows:

“Intelligence failure was not the only problem. It seems that the entire system has collapsed. This did not happen when Israel fought the Egyptian army or Hezbollah. “This time, a smaller group (Hamas) dealt Israel a more painful blow than the 1973 coup.” Meir Sheetrit, one of the former Israeli ministers, said in his article in the Maariv newspaper: “This is both a political and operational failure. terms and in terms of intelligence. How to explain the fact that the enemy broke the fences with a bulldozer and entered with Toyota vehicles and there was no one to stop them? Where is the Israeli army? Where are the most modern weapons and unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, tanks and soldiers? “This shame cannot be erased,” he said. (AA)