The head of Shin Bet, Israel's domestic security agency, Ronen Bar, acknowledged on Monday that the organization "failed to provide a sufficient warning" to prevent the deadly Hamas attack. He expressed his responsibility for this failure and emphasized the need to focus on the ongoing battle, deferring investigations for a later time, as reported by The Times of Israel.
Bar explained that despite implementing various measures, the Shin Bet was unable to generate an adequate warning to avert the devastating Hamas assault. He assumed full responsibility for the situation as the organization's leader and suggested that the primary concern should be the ongoing combat.
According to The Times of Israel, Israeli defense authorities detected unusual activity in the Gaza Strip several hours before the October 7 attack, which is controlled by the Hamas terrorist group. This led to a late-night conversation among senior Israeli officials, although the signs were largely downplayed. Some Hebrew-language media reports indicated that Bar authorized the deployment of a small team to the Gaza border in anticipation of a limited-scale attack.
The Hamas infiltration on October 7, accompanied by rocket strikes, resulted in the deaths of at least ten Shin Bet members, as reported by The Times of Israel.
Bar emphasized that Israel is currently engaged in a "war" rather than just a "round" of fighting. He distinguished between the two by explaining that a round of fighting ends with a victorious image and subsequent silence, whereas a war concludes with a decisive victory and a transformation in the situation. He highlighted that there are no borders or time constraints in a war and that it continues until the very end.
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has claimed the lives of over 4,000 people on both sides. On October 7, the terrorist group launched over 5,000 rocket strikes and subsequently infiltrated southern Israeli towns by land, resulting in civilian casualties in homes, on roads, and at a music festival near the Gaza border. Israel has responded with a counteroffensive and is now preparing for a coordinated ground invasion, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to "wipe Hamas off the face of the Earth."
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