Did Israel’s famed intelligence service Mossad fail to foresee Hamas’ unprecedented terror attack?

Israeli officials are facing heat over the unprecedented attacks launched by the Hamas terror group during the Jewish holiday over the weekend, as questions are being raised over the potential failure of its famed Mossad intelligence agency.

On Saturday (Oct 7) morning, Hamas began its blitzkrieg by air, land and sea spanning 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, including towns and other communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometres) from the Gaza border.

The attack caught the Israeli security apparatus off guard which had otherwise been largely successful in blunting any shadow war against the Jewish state.

The apparent lapse became clearer when Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that neither the Israeli Defence Force nor the Israel Security Agency — commonly known as the Shin Bet — issued any warnings that the terrorist organisation, which operates out of the Gaza Strip, was about to launch the assault.

What makes this intelligence failure even more startling is the fact that senior IDF and defence ministry officials publicly said last week that Hamas was not particularly interested in open conflict, the outlet reported.

Israelis caught off-guard

US officials said that if the Israelis knew an attack was imminent, they did not share it with Washington.

“We were not tracking this,” a senior US military official said, according to NBC.

According to BBC, Israel has the most extensive and well-funded intelligence network in the Middle East.

Their spy network includes informants and agents who have infiltrated Palestinian militant groups, as well as similar organisations throughout Lebanon and Syria.

However, this wasn’t enough.

“The entire system failed. It’s not just one component,” Jonathan Conricus, a former IDF international spokesman, told CNN.

“It’s the entire defence architecture that evidently failed to provide the necessary defence for Israeli civilians. This is a Pearl Harbor-type of moment for Israel, where there was reality up until today, and then there will be reality after today,” he added.

So far, at least 700 people from the Israeli side have been killed, while more than 400 have died from the Palestinian side since Israel started retaliating.

Remnants of the Yom Kippur War

Saturday’s attack brought back painful memories of the October 1973 war, which happened exactly on the same date 50 years ago, in which Israel's enemies had launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.

“It cannot be understated or put in less severe terms: The IDF, the strongest military in the Middle East and one of the most respected worldwide was caught completely by surprise in the Hamas attack on Israel on Saturday,” YNetNews, a leading portal, asserted.

(With inputs from agencies)

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