Israel-Hamas war: Israeli minister says govt failed to protect citizens

Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Sunday (Oct 15) that the government was taking responsibility for last week's unprecedented attack by Hamas which killed 1,400 Israeli citizens. Addressing a press conference, Finance Minister Smotrich said, "We have to admit honestly, painfully and with a bowed head - we, the state leadership and the security establishment, have failed in maintaining the security of our citizens."

"We failed to implement the unwritten contract, the first of its kind between a state and its citizens. A contract that was written in blood and is now stained with blood," he added.

Israel admits intelligence failure

The minister's remarks come just a day after a senior Israeli official admitted intelligence mistakes in failing to predict the October 7 attack by Hamas. "It's my mistake, and it reflects the mistakes of all those making (intelligence) assessments," National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi told a press briefing on Saturday when asked about his recent remarks predicting no Hamas aggression.

"We really believed that Hamas learned the lesson from" its last major war with Israel in 2021, Hanegbi added.

Hanegbi also rejected negotiations towards any prisoner swap deal with Hamas and said there was no way to negotiate with an enemy Israel sworn to obliterate.

The total deaths in the conflict have crossed 4,000 with 1,400 killed on the Israeli side and 2,670 killed in the Gaza Strip. On Sunday, the military said that it had confirmed 155 people were being held hostage by Hamas since last week.

Families of "155 hostages" have been contacted by the authorities, military spokesman Daniel Hagari said, updating an earlier figure confirming 126 hostages.

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