Shin Bet Admits Failure in Assessing Hamas’ Capabilities Before October 7 Attack
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Faces Calls for Apology as Shin Bet Acknowledges Security Failures Ahead of Hamas' Assault.
Watan-The Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet) admitted on Tuesday to its failure in assessing the capabilities of the Hamas movement before October 7, 2023, and hinted at the responsibility of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Shin Bet acknowledged in its investigation that it did not properly assess Hamas’ capabilities before October 7, 2023, or the attack by the movement on that day.
This admission came from excerpts published by Israeli media from the results of an investigation carried out by Shin Bet into the 2023 Hamas attack, which represented a military, intelligence, and security failure for Tel Aviv.
On that day, Hamas attacked 22 settlements and 11 military bases along the Gaza Strip, killing and capturing Israelis in retaliation for the “daily crimes of Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people and their sanctities, particularly the Al-Aqsa Mosque,” according to the movement.
The Israeli Broadcasting Authority (official) reported that Shin Bet admitted in its investigation that it failed to properly assess Hamas’ capabilities before October 7, 2023, or the movement’s attack on that day.
The authority added, through its account on the “X” platform, that the Shin Bet report hinted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “had followed a failed policy over the years.”
Meanwhile, Channel 12 reported that Shin Bet’s investigation concluded that there were “gaps and problems in handling intelligence information in general, and in the mechanisms for overseeing intelligence operations specifically on the night of October 7.”
Shin Bet considered that what it called “the policy of silence allowed Hamas to gain immense strength.”
Netanyahu’s Call for an Apology
After the investigation results were published, Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid and the head of the “National Camp” party, Benny Gantz, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize.
Lapid said on the “X” platform that Netanyahu is trying to blame others.
While military and intelligence officials resigned, taking partial responsibility for the failure on October 7, 2023, Netanyahu refused to take any responsibility and ignored opposition calls for his government to resign and for early elections.
Lapid addressed Netanyahu, saying: “Didn’t they wake you up even when intelligence materials warned you of the disaster?”
He continued, “Israel has been awake for 515 days, and we still have hostages (prisoners) in Gaza. It’s time for you to wake up, apologize, and take responsibility. It happened under your watch.”
Tel Aviv estimates there are 59 Israeli hostages in Gaza, 24 of whom are alive, while more than 10,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli prisons, suffering from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, which has led to the deaths of many, according to Palestinian and Israeli human rights and media reports.
Opposition leader Benny Gantz also held Netanyahu responsible for the failure on October 7, 2023, and called on him to apologize.
He added, “Instead of taking responsibility, apologizing, and forming an official investigation committee, the Prime Minister is throwing mud at Shin Bet… There is no leadership, no responsibility, and no limits to the ridicule.”
