The surprise attack by Hamas on Israel suggests a massive intelligence failure as the Israeli government appeared blindsided by the infiltration of Hamas fighters.
The surprise attack by Hamas on Israel suggests a massive intelligence failure as the Israeli government appeared blindsided by the infiltration of Hamas fighters across the southern border and the launch of thousands of rockets.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a meeting with security cabinet in Tel Aviv, Israel on October 07, 2023.on Israel suggests a massive intelligence failure as the Israeli government appeared blindsided by the infiltration of Hamas fighters across the southern border and the launch of thousands of rockets.
The additional intelligence to Israel could include information gathered from drones, eavesdropping and satellites, but the officials did not elaborate. But Colin Clarke, senior research fellow at The Soufan Center, a nonprofit that focuses on global security issues, said Israel had to bear the main responsibility for failing to anticipate Saturday's attack.
David Friedman, who was U.S. ambassador to Israel in the Trump administration, said: "In the 40 or more years that I've been following Israel one way or another, I've never seen this happen. I've never seen the border breached in this manner. Usually, even one person from Gaza gets close to the border, they're intercepted and neutralized long before they can do anything. This is just something I've never seen before. It's of course a large intelligence failure.
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that senior Israeli military officers and officials had assessed, as recently as last week, that Hamas wanted to avoid a full-blown conflict with Israel. NBC News could not immediately verify that report.
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