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Three years of October 7 Hamas attack. Was Israel alerted by a country days before?
The Hamas-led surprise assault on southern Israel began on October 7, 2023, becoming the deadliest day for Israelis in the country's history.
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Wednesday marks three years of the deadly October 7 Hamas attack. However, Israel had reportedly been alerted about the possibility of an attack just days before.
Israel was alerted by Egypt about the possibility of a major violent incident from Gaza three days before Hamas launched its deadly cross-border attack, according to Michael McCaul, chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Hamas-led surprise assault on southern Israel began on October 7, 2023, becoming the deadliest day for Israelis in the country's history.
McCaul said the warning was discussed during a closed-door intelligence briefing for US lawmakers on Wednesday. He said he could not provide further details because of the classified nature of the information.
“We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” McCaul told reporters after the briefing in 2023, according to AFP.
“I don't want to get too much into classified, but a warning was given,” the Texas Republican added. “I think the question was at what level.”
Egypt says it issued repeated warnings
An Egyptian intelligence official also told the Associated Press in 2023 that Cairo had repeatedly warned Israeli officials that “something big” was being planned in Gaza.
“We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
According to the official, Israeli officials had played down the threat from Gaza and were instead more focused on the West Bank.
Egypt, which controls crossings on its border with Gaza, has frequently acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas.
Netanyahu rejects warning reports
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied that Israel received a specific warning about the attack.
Netanyahu called suggestions that Israel had been given advance notice of the deadly incursion “totally fake news”.
Israeli intelligence agencies have faced intense scrutiny over their failure to prevent the attack, which became the deadliest assault by Palestinian militants in Israel's 75-year history.
Former UK intelligence chief points to complacency
Sir Alex Younger, who led the UK's foreign intelligence agency from 2014 to 2020, said the attack was possible because of what he described as “institutional complacency” in Israel.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Podcast, Younger said Israel may have believed Hamas was not seeking another major conflict. As a result, information that challenged that assumption may have been discounted.
“It is my assumption - though I'm not on the inside - that there would be data breaking through that could have been interpreted differently and certainly would be with hindsight,” he said.
Younger also said an excessive reliance on technology to monitor Gaza may have contributed to a false sense of security.
(With inputs from agencies)
