Five months ago, on October 7, Hamas launched a deadly attack against Israel, killing nearly 1,200 men, women and children. The country is in shock. Israel, which presents itself as the home of the Jewish people, has failed to protect its population. Its army, its formidable intelligence services, saw nothing coming. A major security failure, from which the country is trying to learn lessons. Especially since young soldiers posted on the border with Gaza alerted their superiors for months. But she chose to ignore them.
2 mins
With our correspondent in Jerusalem,Sami Boukhelifa
“ I completed my military service in September 2020 “, remembers Talia, who was part of the lookout unit, the ” Tatzpitanit “. “ I am 21 years old and I am French-Israeli », she adds, stationed in towers on the country’s borders.
Eyes glued to surveillance screens, the mission is necessary, but thankless. “ In general, little importance is given to the words of the lookout soldiers. Because we are young and we are 18 years old. We are at the bottom of the army hierarchy », she regrets.
Unusual movements reported at the border
The slightest suspicious event observed at the border must be reported to the officers. “ When an incident or something abnormal is reported to high-ranking commanders, they contact the intelligence services directly, either the Shin Bet (domestic intelligence) or the Mossad (foreign intelligence). , Editor’s note). But if what we say is not consistent with what the Shin Bet says, then they don’t give us any importance », deplores Talia.
In fact, a week after the events, the Israeli government’s National Security Advisor recognized “errors” by the intelligence services ahead of the bloody attacks of October 7.
According to Israeli daily newspaper Haaretzbefore October 7, for months, Tatzpitanit reported unusual movements on the border with Gaza. “ The fact that these alerts were not heard really makes me angry. And all because of the incompetence of the IDF and the government. It’s still crazy, because the higher-ups should have understood with the alerts and seen how serious it was. And so do what is necessary. It is not normal that this was not taken into account, and that there were such flaws, which gave rise to such a massacre and disaster. », she finishes.
Read also
Israel: how the most powerful army in the Middle East was taken by surprise by Hamas