Egypt Warned Israel of Hamas Attack Before Oct. 7, Report Claims

Three years after the October 7th Hamas attacks, questions persist about why Israeli leadership and security apparatus ignored warnings from both external sources and internal intelligence. A new report highlights a warning allegedly sent by Egypt days before the massacre, alongside previous reports of intelligence from Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Despite these alerts, the article contends that the political and security echelons failed to synthesize the information into a comprehensive understanding of Hamas's intentions, particularly those of leader Yahya Sinwar.

The piece criticizes the prevailing "conception" within Israel's security establishment, suggesting a collective failure to challenge assumptions and anticipate the scale of the threat. It points to the military's focus on fighting in Lebanon and the perceived threat from Syria under former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as a distraction. The article dismisses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claims of not being alerted on the night of the attack as a "cheap spin," asserting that the volume of intelligence and the rapid unfolding of events would not have altered the outcome even with an earlier warning.

The author argues that a state commission of inquiry is necessary to uncover the full truth behind the "sleeping on watch" failures. The article suggests that proactive measures, such as deploying additional troops, targeted assassinations, or preventing the import of materials used for Hamas's military buildup, could have mitigated the disaster. The piece concludes by questioning whether relevant threat assessments were displayed and adequate forces were deployed to counter the attack, regardless of whether the Prime Minister was awakened in time.