A handout photo made available by the 'Israeli' Government Press Office shows 'Israeli' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting in Tel Aviv on October 8, 2023 [GPO via EPA-EFE/Amos Ben-Gershom)
‘Israeli’ intelligence admits failure to infiltrate Hamas: report
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- ‘Israeli’ intelligence agencies acknowledge they had no agents inside Hamas leadership for nearly two decades.
- The lapse contributed to the absence of early warning ahead of the October 7, 2023 events.
‘Israeli’ intelligence agencies have admitted they failed to recruit any agents within the leadership of Hamas, a long-standing intelligence gap that contributed to the lack of advance warning before the October 7, 2023, according to a report by the ‘Israeli’ daily Yedioth Ahronoth.
The newspaper said that the security establishment acknowledged that the Internal Security Service, known as Shin Bet, military intelligence Unit 504, and the Mossad had no high-level operatives inside Hamas leadership for nearly 20 years.
Read more: Hamas denies involvement in explosion that wounded ‘Israeli’ officer
Long-running intelligence gap
“Since the disengagement from Gaza, no significant agent was planted inside Hamas leadership,” the paper quoted security officials as saying, describing a prolonged failure to penetrate the movement’s senior ranks.
‘Israel’ carried out its unilateral disengagement from Gaza in 2005, dismantling settlements and withdrawing military forces. According to the report, intelligence coverage of Hamas leadership did not recover in the years that followed.
Read more: Gaza media office reports shocking number of ‘Israeli’ truce violations
The paper said Shin Bet maintained some lower-level sources, but almost none provided information of real value prior to October 7.
‘Hardest enemy’
The newspaper said the scale of the failure only became clear after Oct. 7.
“It was only after October seven that it became apparent Hamas is the hardest enemy in the Middle East,” the report said.
Senior ‘Israeli’ officials have since described what happened as the the biggest intelligence and military failure, one that severely damaged the image of ‘Israel’ and its army on the global stage.
The revelations add to ongoing internal scrutiny over how the intelligence establishment misread Hamas and failed to anticipate one of the most consequential attacks in the history of the war.
