Israel’s secret service is one of the best in the world. Nevertheless, Hamas managed a surprise attack that shattered Israel’s image of invincibility.
Gaza/Tel Aviv – The surprising Hamas terrorist attack Israel was the worst bloodbath in the country’s history. Why did the Israeli intelligence services, which are internationally recognized as leaders, not see the threat coming? The exact reasons are still unclear, but information from experts, eyewitness reports and surveillance videos provide initial explanations.
Surveillance video shows first Hamas combat team turning off surveillance
The first target of the Hamas terrorists on Saturday morning was apparently the surveillance systems, cameras and guard posts. Commercial drones sometimes dropped explosives over the watchtowers. Also ten armed fighters Hamasthat in one of the New York Times verified video can be seen, were probably on a mission to paralyze the communications and surveillance system in order to “blind” Israel’s military. Hamas wanted to prevent Israeli soldiers from sending calls for help, calling for reinforcements and warning other viewpoints. The ten Hamas fighters were probably among the first to cross the border and apparently knew exactly where the Israeli army’s monitoring center was in southern Israel – and where the entrance was.
After the ten Hamas forces broke the border fence between Israel and Israel known as the “Iron Wall” on Saturday morning Gaza Strip After breaking through in just a few moments, they drove to the military base, blew up the entrance, got into the compound and then even had time to take a selfie. Shortly afterwards, Hamas terrorists shot and killed an unarmed soldier. A few moments later, the video shows the troop commander pulling a detailed map decorated in different colors from his pocket. All of this is shown by the helmet camera of the terror squad commander, who was later killed in battle, which is how the video footage ended up in Israeli hands.
Hamas attack planned for a long time: The terrorist organization knew these details
Surveillance videos and eyewitness reports from Israeli security forces show: Hamas was not only well prepared, it apparently knew in detail how the Israeli military operated, where the surveillance centers were located, how many soldiers were stationed where, how many vehicles they had and even, how long it would take for Israeli reinforcements to arrive, like that New York Times reported with reference to Israeli security forces. It is still unclear where the terrorist organization got the information from.
Israeli rescue workers found a detailed Hamas planning document showing the division of fighters into different units and functions: navigators, drivers, saboteurs. Likewise, concrete battle plans and specific targets that were to be attacked from a certain angle were apparently listed. The document was loud New York Times dated October 2022. The terrorist organization’s preparations apparently went on for at least that long. Possibly much longer.
High-ranking Israeli minister: “We have been dealing with nonsense”
On Thursday, for the first time, a minister in Benjamin Netanyahu’s government took responsibility. “We are the government at the time it happened. We are responsible,” Education Minister Joav Kisch said on Israeli television on Thursday. The army is also responsible. “We were dealing with nonsense,” the minister continued. Some experts also say that the focus was too much on the West Bank and Hezbollah. This led to a presence in the south of the country that was too thin. Israeli officials have concentrated security forces in the West Bank and relied too much on technical means such as the border fence, Audrey Kurth Cronin, head of the Carnegie Mellon Institute, told the newspaper Mirror.
Hamas led Israelis to believe it was “engaged with the government of Gaza,” Ali Barakeh, a Hamas leader, confirmed in a television interview on Monday. “The whole time, Hamas was preparing for this big attack under the table.” Hamas was sold as war-weary. “Hamas has given Israel the impression that it is unprepared for a fight,” said one close to Hamas Source from Reuters news agency. But the terrorist organization actually trained and trained the group’s fighters, often in public. Israel turned away from the Gaza Strip somewhat when it wanted to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia, it was said from another source.
Border between Israel and Hamas: “Iron Wall” fell within a few moments
Hamas’ primary goal was apparently to prevent information from leaking out. Even Hamas leaders sometimes knew nothing about the plans, as the Reuters news agency reported. The approximately 1,000 fighters who took part in the attack had no idea of the exact purpose of the exercises while they were still training, the news agency said, citing a source close to Hamas. The attack was therefore coordinated in detail. Initially, Hamas fired around 3,000 rockets, and at the same time fighters flew over the border with motorized paragliders to secure the area.
An elite commando then stormed the border fence with explosives and bulldozers, then the terrorists invaded Israel with motorcycles and pickup trucks. Until then, it seemed unthinkable that this could be possible. Because the border between Israel is a bulwark: two six-meter-high metal fences with barbed wire are equipped with cameras, radar devices and sensors. There are remote-controlled machine guns in watchtowers, and reinforcement troops are on call. In addition, metal reinforcement extends far into the ground to prevent invasion via tunnel systems.
“Before the Israelis left Gaza in 2005, they relied on human sources and on infiltrating Hamas with agents,” said security expert Audrey Kurth Cronin Mirror. Later, electronic means were increasingly relied on: facial recognition, databases, the Iron Dome, the border system. “While these are useful tools, they relied on them too much.”
Hamas attacks in Israel: “Major failure of the secret service and military apparatus”
Hamas also killed several Gaza Division officers, all of whom were gathered at the same location New York Times reported. The Israeli military was therefore not only largely blind and unprepared, but also partly without leadership. The Hamas attack represents “a major failure of the intelligence system and military apparatus in the south,” former Gen. Yaakov Amidror, who served as Prime Minister Netanyahu’s national security adviser, told reporters on Sunday. The country will be closely examining what exactly happened on Saturday, October 7th. However, probably only after that War in Israel. Now is not the time to deal with this, said Israeli Education Minister Joav Kisch. “Now we have to concentrate on winning.”
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