Israel's Spy Chief Admits 'Intelligence Failure'
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Israel's military intelligence chief Aharon Haliva publicly admitted to a significant lapse in the agency's performance, describing it as the "most important mission" failure.
He revealed that the agency failed to detect a looming threat posed by Hamas and to provide timely warnings to the military to prevent the attack that occurred over a week ago.
"The beginning of the war is an intelligence failure," stated the commander of the Israel military intelligence division, taking full responsibility for the deficiency in military intelligence.
Haliva has committed to launching an in-depth investigation into the underlying causes of this failure, promising to derive pertinent conclusions in due course.
These revelations come more than a week after Hamas launched a massive attack on October 7, firing thousands of rockets at Israeli-occupied territory and overrunning illegal Israeli settlements near Gaza.
On Monday, Ronen Bar, the head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security service, also assumed personal responsibility for the agency's shortcomings and failures in anticipating the attack.
Israeli media reports indicate that Bar had anticipated only a small-scale attack and had deployed a limited team of agents to the Gaza border. At least ten Shin Bet members were killed in the Hamas attack on October 7.
On Tuesday, Tasnim published an article, shedding light on the events of the operation, and how the intelligence, security, and military apparatus of Israel found itself caught off guard.
This article provides a detailed account of the "Al-Aqsa storm" operation, which has entered its 12th day. It highlights significant intelligence, security, and military failures on the part of Israel in its confrontation with Hamas. Shin Bet, or Shabak, learned about the movements of Palestinian forces near the Gaza border wall in the hours leading up to the operation but failed to anticipate the scale and intensity of the attack.
Shabak sent a team, known as the "Tequila Team," to gather information, but they were ambushed by Hamas forces and suffered casualties. Additional reinforcement from the special police unit, Yamam, also faced severe losses during the ongoing battle.
The article lists the names of the Shabak personnel who lost their lives in the operation. The intelligence failure is considered a significant setback, given earlier reports that Hamas had been preparing for this attack for over a year.
The failure is expected to have political repercussions, potentially affecting prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tenure. Even opposition leader Benny Gantz, who formed a coalition with Netanyahu during the conflict, has called for accountability regarding the intelligence failure. Ronen Bar publicly acknowledged responsibility for the failure but emphasized that investigations would occur after the war.
