JERUSALEM: Israel is grappling with critical questions and a sense of surprise after a deadly attack by Hamas militants who breached security barriers around Gaza and inflicted significant civilian casualties in Israeli towns. The incident occurred on the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, during which Israeli forces were caught off guard by Syrian and Egyptian tank columns.
Retired General Giora Eiland, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council, remarked that the situation appeared eerily reminiscent of the Yom Kippur War, with Israel taken by surprise in a well-coordinated attack. He emphasized that Israel seemed completely caught off guard.
While acknowledging the need for discussions on intelligence preparation in the future, an army spokesman emphasized that the current focus was on combat.
Israel had long considered Hamas its sworn enemy, but following a 10-day war in 2021 that inflicted significant damage on Gaza, Israel adopted a strategy that combined economic incentives, such as granting thousands of work permits to Gazans, with a tight blockade and the constant threat of airstrikes to maintain stability in the blockaded enclave.
For the past 18 months, amid violence in the West Bank, Gaza had remained relatively calm, with most cross-border clashes involving the smaller Islamic Jihad movement while Hamas largely stayed on the sidelines.
#Israel’s security forces face questions after #Hamas attack lays bare intelligence gaps https://t.co/zozXDad6rI pic.twitter.com/32YWpi8APH
— Arab News (@arabnews) October 8, 2023
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government had always emphasized its security credentials and maintained an uncompromising stance toward Palestinian militant factions, including Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007.
However, the recent events highlight what experts have described as an “intelligence failure” and a “security failure.” The infiltration of a significant force of Hamas gunmen into Israeli towns came as a shock to Israelis. The attack resulted in over 250 Israeli casualties, including deaths and injuries, marking an unprecedented number of Israeli victims in a single day. The Israeli military also sustained significant losses, and Palestinian militant groups claimed to have captured dozens of soldiers.
It looks like a horror movie, but it's near a Kibbutz in southern Israel.
This was a massacre. #Israel pic.twitter.com/PgOMTMIoWJ
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) October 8, 2023
The gunmen seized security posts, including a police station in the southern town of Sderot, and overran the Erez crossing, a high-security facility for people entering and leaving Gaza. Images circulated by Hamas media depicted fighters in abandoned offices and near the site’s high concrete walls.
Experts and analysts have expressed that the attack was well-planned and coordinated, causing substantial tactical damage and revealing a breakdown in Israel’s layered approach toward Gaza security.
