On October 7, Hamas launched a raid that fired thousands of rockets into Israel, causing heavy losses to Israel. The attack, dubbed the "Al-Aqsa flood" by Hamas, was intended in retaliation for Israel's oppression and aggression against Palestinians. Hamas's actions not only shattered Israel's sense of security, but also exposed serious negligence in the duties of Israeli intelligence.
According to Israel**, Israel's intelligence service, also known as "Unit 8200", on October 7, happens to be an important holiday in Israel - Yom Kippur. This is the holiest festival in Judaism, on which Jews perform penance and prayer, do not eat, drink, do anything, or even receive **. As a result, Israel's intelligence services are also on holiday on this day, with no one on duty and no one monitoring Hamas's movements. The IDF and the population were also not warned in advance. As a result, serious gaps in the IDF's combat readiness have emerged, leading to a series of tragedies.
For example, a Merkava tank was captured alive by Hamas's special forces, and the tank's gun mask had not yet been opened, indicating that the tank had not entered combat condition. In another example, a group of tanks and infantry vehicles were hit by Hamas rockets, and these armoured vehicles were parked in a parking lot without any protective measures. Moreover, a number of Israeli soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped by Hamas infiltrators, taken hostage, and forced to endorse Hamas's actions on television.
All these incidents show that the holiday of Israeli intelligence services has given Hamas an excellent opportunity to launch an attack at the moment when Israel is at its most lax, causing great harm to Israel. It is also reminiscent of the Yom Kippur War of 1973, when Egypt and Syria also launched surprise attacks on Israel's most important holiday, leaving Israel on the back foot.
The mistakes of Israeli intelligence call into question their competence and level. Once known as "Unit 8200", Israeli intelligence is the elite arm of the Israel Defense Forces, responsible for collecting and analyzing various intelligence to provide guarantees for Israel's security and interests. It has played an important role in many conflicts, such as the Six-Day War in 1967, when it successfully deciphered the codes of Arab countries and provided accurate targets for Israeli air strikes. It has also used high-tech means to eliminate Israel's enemies in numerous assassination attempts, such as in 2010, when it used a poisoned letter to kill a senior Hamas commander.
However, this mistake raises doubts about the capabilities of Israeli intelligence. Why is it taking a holiday at such a critical time?Why does it ignore Hamas's Xi and training?Why didn't it detect Hamas's attack plan in time?Why did it not inform the IDF and the population in advance?These questions require a rational explanation from Israeli intelligence and a deep reflection on the part of the IDF.
Israel, which has always been known as the little bully of the Middle East, has strong military and intelligence capabilities, but this time, it was caught off guard by Hamas, which also exposed their shortcomings and weaknesses, and Israel should understand that intelligence is the precursor of war, and intelligence mistakes may lead to the defeat of war. It also reminds us of how important it is to make sure that the personnel and equipment of the intelligence services are in top condition and that they are not slacking off because of holidays or other reasons.