MOSCOW, March 5. /TASS/. The October 7 Hamas infiltration of the Israeli territory was a "total failure" of the Israeli intelligence, Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Director Sergey Naryshkin said.
"Yes, it was a failure, first and foremost, of the intelligence, which was considered almost one of the most powerful in the world there, but it was a total failure. And will get their due for that failure," he said in an exclusive interview for the Russian TV.
According to Naryshkin, the degradation of the Israeli intelligence is "connected to the complex processes that are happening in the world."
"The world is bubbling, the world is in state of chaos; intelligence agencies have not become weaker, if we compare their operational level to 10, 15, 20 years ago. It is just that the circumstances of their operation have changed significantly. They have changed significantly for the worse. And this is worrisome," the official underscored.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 240 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.