So Israel could miss the attack from Hamas

The attack on Israel on Saturday was the biggest in 50 years.

Now the whole world is wondering how the country’s intelligence service could miss what was going on.

Several theories are raised in Israeli and international media.

Hamas’s surprise attacks on Israel on Saturday came from the air, from the sea and on land. Hours later, Israel responded with bombings in Gaza, and not even a day after the violence began, the total death toll had risen above 400.

The attack is the largest since the 1973 Yom Kippur War and occurred the day after its 50th anniversary. That time the attack was led by Egypt and Syria. Then as now, Israel was unprepared.

– This is Israel’s September 11. Not since 1973 have we seen such a catastrophic intelligence failure in Israel, says Marc Polymeropoulous, who for more than 20 years worked for the CIA with a focus on terrorism in the Middle East. to NBC News.

Israel’s intelligence services have long been considered world leaders with a combination of both human and technological infiltration in both Gaza and the West Bank.

– It is almost unimaginable that they could miss this, says Marc Polymeropoulous.

Nor had the US intelligence service picked up on Hamas’s planning.

– I am shocked, says Marc Polymeropoulous.

In the Israeli and international media, several explanations are now being raised as to why Israel could miss that the attack was underway.

check BBC: Looked the wrong way

Jeremy Bowen, international editor at the British BBC, has a long-standing background as a correspondent in the Middle East. He writes in an analysis that the risk of violence has been apparent for several months, but that both Israelis and Palestinians have focused on the recent unrest in the West Bank.

“No one expected Hamas to think out and so carefully plan such a complex and coordinated operation from Gaza,” he writes.

check Politico: “Disorder” at headquarters

The American magazine Politico has interviewed Chuck Freilich, who was Deputy National Security Advisor in Israel and is now a professor at Tel Aviv University. Like other observers, he draws parallels to the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

– It was a catastrophic failure regarding Egypt and Syria. This is a catastrophic failure when it comes to Gaza, he says.

Chuck Freilich singles out in particular the special Gaza divisions of the army and intelligence services.

– It is a failure both in terms of intelligence and operationally. It is clear that we were completely unprepared. The headquarters in charge of Gaza were busy with other things, they are in disarray, and therefore the whole response has been delayed.

check Jerusalem Post: Focus on Iran

The Jerusalem Post newspaper’s commentator Seth J Frantzman points out that Israel had too much focus on the threat from Iran.

“Gaza was underestimated as a security risk because Iran-backed organizations have increased their threats elsewhere. Hamas in Gaza appeared isolated, even unable to get more money from its regular financiers such as Qatar. With more and more Israeli normalization agreements in the region, Hamas seemed to represent a dated ideology. It seems to have lulled people into a sense of false security,” he writes.

check Times of Israel: Misjudgment on Hamas

The Times of Israel newspaper reports that in recent years the Israel Defense Forces have assumed that Hamas has been deterred from major attacks because it would risk leaving Gaza in ruins when Israel strikes back.

“All too clearly, it turns out that that assessment was unfounded,” writes the newspaper.