Cairo, 12 October 2023 (GNP): According to the head of a US congressional commission, Israel received a warning from Egypt three days before the fatal cross-border attack by Hamas.
Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, confirmed the supposed warning, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deemed it to be “absolutely false.”
The inability of the Israeli intelligence agencies to stop the most fatal strike by Palestinian militants in Israel’s 75-year history has drawn criticism.
According to a representative of Egyptian intelligence, Cairo frequently informed Israel that “something big” was being prepared from Gaza, but Israel disregarded the warnings.
According to Sir Alex Younger, who led the UK’s foreign intelligence service from 2014 to 2020, Israel’s “institutional complacency” allowed Hamas to carry out their strike on October 7. He claimed that Israel could have thought that Hamas was not eager to start a fresh war and that any evidence to the contrary may have been dismissed.
An over-reliance on technology tools to monitor Gaza may have contributed to complacency by creating a false feeling of security, he further added.
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Egypt frequently acts as a mediator between Israel and Hamas since it has control over who is allowed to enter Gaza.
On Saturday, a coordinated land, air, and sea assault by more than 1,500 Palestinians broke down the Gaza security fence.
1,200 people have died in Israel as a result of Hamas attacks. Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have resulted in the deaths of over a thousand civilians.
There was no concrete evidence of a targeted attack, according to sources. In retaliation, Israel has been shelling Hamas targets in Gaza, and locals there claim they don’t have mains electricity since their lone power plant ran out of fuel.
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that Israel had a responsibility to respond to the assaults, which he called an “act of sheer evil.” This was met with criticism from Hamas. According to the Palestinian organization, Biden’s comments were “inflammatory” and intended to raise the tenor in the Gaza Strip.
