france.com
David Khalfa
Excerpted
The attack is unprecedented both in terms of its scale and its sophistication. Since the Yom Kippur War [on October 6, 1973, an Arab coalition of Egyptian and Syrian forces launched a surprise attack on Israel on Yom Kippur – the Jewish holy day of atonement, Ed.], Israel has never been confronted with a full-scale ground invasion [like this].
We are talking about Hamas commando forces – special forces operating deep inside Israeli territory – with a modus operandi of a real army. Hardened by battle, they are trained and equipped with modern tactical resources and fight in several places at a time.
They sent eight pickup trucks with around eight Islamist Hamas gunmen [in each] patrolling the streets of towns and villages into southern Israel, killing civilians at point-blank range and taking entire families hostage, including women and children.
This situation is completely unheard of. It is a massive surprise attack, a coordinated attack that requires a level of intelligence and preparation on the part of Hamas. Probably some logistical support, too, from Islamic Jihad on the one hand and Hezbollah and Iran on the other. That would go a long way towards explaining what is happening now.
Why did Israeli intelligence services not see this coming?
David Khalfa: It is a major failure for the Israeli intelligence services. A failure that could even be described as historic and without exaggerating, could be compared to what happened in 1973.
Israel is a country that is on permanent alert, ready to go into battle at any time. It is always on its toes. It is clear that there was a certain degree of unpreparedness, probably an error in the analysis and estimation on the part of Israeli intelligence services, but also in the preparation of Israeli special forces [for an attack like this].
It seems the Israeli army itself is in a state of shock. The country is in the fog of war, and the success of Hamas’s operation largely depends on an element of surprise, but also on joint army manoeuvres.
The attack was three-dimensional; it took place on land, sea and by air. That is probably what surprised the Israelis.
Israel is a country that relies on its technology to anticipate threats and neutralise them before they arise. It is clear that there was an issue regarding anticipation, and probably a problem in their analysis the threat level.
The scenario Israeli intelligence services were expecting was an invasion from the north, via Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. They were blindsided.
........on December 7, 1941, a Sunday, our guys were playing golf, still asleep, eating breakfast, hung over after Saturday night, planes and ships lined up for destruction, no ammo in place, guns locked up, no plan.
That said, to their eternal credit, and largely on an individual basis, our guys picked themselves up off the deck, unlocked the guns, found ammo and fought back as best they could within a few “minutes” of the attack.
Israel will come roaring back. No doubt about that. I seriously feel sorry for the children in the war zone, on both sides.
I’m having a hard time believing Israel was not aware of what was brewing. The Massad is one of the highest intelligence divisions in the world.