Israel’s mistakes that made the Hamas attack possible
Hamas’s attack on Israel is unprecedented in history. Islamic militias attacked the Jewish state from sea, land and air, causing the deaths of at least 800 civilians and soldiers and taking dozens of people hostage in just a few hours. It seems impossible that the country that has the strongest army in the Middle East, and certainly one of the strongest and best-trained armies in the world, would allow such a small organization to crush it like this. Despite Iran’s support. Even wars with much more powerful countries such as Egypt, Jordan or Lebanon have not been this devastating for Israel. It seems impossible that the Mossad, one of the most effective secret services on the planet, had no idea what was going to happen. Even more so if you consider that the offensive started from the Gaza Strip, a small territory considered the largest open-air prison in the world, literally surrounded by walls and fences, military outposts and kept under constant control. It is controlled by state-of-the-art satellites and drones.
From a military perspective, this was certainly a masterful move on Hamas’ part, but the culpability (and responsibilities) on the Israeli side are clear and egregious, and involve different segments of the state. Uri’s final decision was a fiasco that was “not due to individual mistakes, but a systemic failure at all levels. The failure was found in the lack of intelligence, the inadequate response of the military and the political leadership”. Bar-Joseph, professor emeritus in the Department of International Relations at the University of Haifa’s Faculty of Political Sciences, said in a scathing editorial published in Israel’s liberal-left newspaper Haaretz. According to the professor, there are similarities with the Yom Kippur war, the fourth Arab-Israeli war of 1973, which started with a sudden attack by the Egyptian and Syrian armies and caught Israel’s political-military leadership off guard, and is still happening today. Israelis call this “failure.”
But this time Tel Aviv’s failure was much more general; At the time, the secret services had warned of the possible risk and the army had not prepared adequate defenses. At least in the beginning. “Unlike preparations for a single terrorist attack that could be hidden, what happened on Saturday required a comprehensive plan, and there were hundreds of people constantly monitoring Gaza, keeping everything secret from a country with advanced intelligence capabilities. Although Israel had satellites, it had a strong monitoring system.” “He did not realize that, while operating with UAVs and other advanced technological means, Hamas was gathering forces and launching paraglider attacks along the border with the encouragement of thousands of people,” said the professor, author of “Resistance, the IDF and the Yom Kippur War” and the Israel-Palestine conflict. lots of other books.
And this lack of warning has brought about the problem of mental preparedness on the Gaza border, as it is very difficult for a soldier to go from ‘zero to 100’ in a short time, to get out of a sleepy border control state. into a single state of war without any warning. This is a failure of political judgment. Since the 11-day war between Israel and Gaza in May 2021, Israeli leaders have become convinced that Hamas has given up on provoking another war and its leader in Gaza, Yihya Sinwar, has decided to focus on rebuilding the besieged strip’s economy. . A prediction that proved completely wrong on Saturday.
The prime suspect for this failure is naturally Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, around whom the entire parliamentary spectrum has rallied, but who will be called to account for this situation at the end of the conflict. His government, the most extreme in the country’s history, has not only increased the frustration and anger of Palestinians living under occupation and increased their support for armed groups, but has also succeeded in dividing his own country like never before. justice reform that has further deepened divisions between secular and religious people and managed to attract opposition even from the Israel Defense Forces. And all this benefited Hamas.
An attack like the one launched last Saturday requires planning, time to prepare and professionalism to carry it out; But above all, it requires an audacity that the ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’ has never shown before. “A great strategic courage was displayed,” an Israeli security source told Israel’s main newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth. Accordingly, the attack was carried out “knowing that Israel is no longer as strong as before due to internal cracks.” is happening”.
The Tel Aviv government is so extremist that it has even managed to cool relations with the United States, which has always been Israel’s main ally, and also with the European Union. The Prime Minister gave too much power to his ultranationalist allies, such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who leads the Religious Zionists, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, leader of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power). This leads to bad military choices. Large numbers of troops have been sent to the West Bank to protect settlers, who are among the main supporters of far-right parties, and to launch a series of attacks on the area, which should be under Palestinian control but is actually in Israeli hands. Military occupation for years.
Soldiers are regularly sent to escort settlers to the Palestinian city of Nablus and to pray at the tomb of Patriarch Joseph. This move is perceived as a provocation by Palestinians and constantly causes clashes and injuries. Hundreds of soldiers are also in Hebron and the West Bank, where extremist settlers have occupied part of the Palestinian city for years to stay near Abraham’s tomb, causing almost daily clashes. Bar-Joseph said grimly: “When the enemy is Palestinian civilians and IDF troops spend more time guarding settlements and worshipers at Joseph’s Tomb in Nablus than in rigorous training, the result is clear.” “At least since the outbreak of the first intifada in 1987” is the nature of an army whose main mission is occupation, not defense of the nation.
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Source: Today IT

Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.