A combination of intelligence failure and operational failure on the part of Israel led to the massive death count in the Hamas’ attack on Saturday, Israel’s former military intelligence head told The Hindkeshariin an exclusive interview this afternoon.
Major General Amos Yadlin (retired) said the Hamas strike by land, sea and air was a “surprise attack, much like September 11 (9/11), Pearl Harbour”. He added that Hamas was a terror organisation like ISIS, only more cruel in its atrocities. “They are killing women, children in a very cold way. Israel won’t tolerate that,” he said.
On the failure of Israel intelligence to pre-empt an attack of this scale, the veteran said this should be investigated at the end of the war. “Signals were not picked up, sensors were neutralised. The consequences were catastrophic,” he said.
Holding the Benjamin Netanyahu government responsible for the massive intel failure, Major General (retd) Yadlin said, “You cannot avoid the question on the leadership, the buck stops at the PM’s desk. He neglected national security, he ignored warnings from defence ministers, analysts and me.”
To a question on who is backing Hamas in its fight against Israel, the veteran pointed to Iran, Syria and the Hezbollah. “Hamas is not 100 per cent an Iranian proxy, but it is getting a lot of Iranian money and weapons. They behave like ISIS. They are more cruel than ISIS,” he said.
Israel, he said, was very efficient in stopping earlier attacks by Hamas. “We built a wall that extended 30-40 metres underground. We were very effective against rockets, both long- and short-range, thanks to an early warning system. We have the best anti-rocket system in the world, the Iron Dome. When Hamas understood rockets won’t work and tunnels they cannot use, they developed another strategy. This is where Israel failed. Hamas used tactics that superseded Israel,” he said.
The veteran said this attack on Israel has junked the paradigm of thinking that Hamas cares for the 2 million people in Gaza, about their future, and their lives. “They want war, they will get war.”
To a question on how the war will impact Israel’s diplomatic efforts in the region, including the move towards normalising ties with Saudi Arabia, he said, “We are a peace-loving nation. With Egypt, Jordan, UAE. But if somebody pushes us to a corner, Israel knows how to win.”