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Middle East conflict

Israeli intelligence ‘fell asleep’ ahead of Hamas attack — Israeli expert

Yossi Kuperwasser believes that Israel had too much faith in its own military strength

BERLIN, October 12. /TASS/. The former head of the Israeli military intelligence’s analytical department, Yossi Kuperwasser, has pointed to the main reasons why Israel's intelligence services failed to prevent the Hamas attack.

Although Israeli intelligence services have a reputation for being one of the best in the world, their officers "are human," Kuperwasser told the German newspaper Bild. "They are only human. People are optimists and always hope for the best. This was wrong. The truth is that there are people in the world who have bad intentions and are cruel in pursuing their aims," he said.

"The Israeli intelligence services fell asleep," Kuperwasser stated. Israel, he said, "was unaware of the true nature of Hamas, a radical Islamic fanatical organization."

"People wanted to believe that Hamas wished to give Palestinians in Gaza a better life and that a decision to allow thousands Palestinians to come to Israel every day to earn a living would appease Hamas," the expert stressed.

He believes that Israel had too much faith in its own military strength, another major miscalculation.

"It was widely believed that they would be deterred by Israel's military might and would refrain from terror attacks," Kuperwasser explained.

"We thought that because we had found a solution to their rocket attacks and eliminated the tunnels, we would be safe," the expert pointed out, adding that this was a fatal misconception.

"We should have stayed on guard: if we close the door, they will come in through the window. This is exactly what they did," he concluded.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Palestinian militants from the Hamas movement attacked Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and carried out strikes on targets inside Lebanon and Syria. Hostilities have also broken out on the West Bank.

Almost 1,250 Palestinians have been killed in clashes and strikes, while over 5,600 have suffered wounds, since the renewed outbreak of violence began. In Israel, more than 1,500 people have lost their lives and over 4,000 have been wounded.

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