Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has admitted to critical intelligence failures in the lead-up to Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken in southern Israel.
In a report released Tuesday, the agency acknowledged that it had warning signs before the assault but misjudged the threat, allowing Hamas to launch one of the most devastating attacks in Israel’s history.
According to the investigation, Hamas operatives activated 45 Israeli SIM cards the night before the attack, a tactic commonly used for coordination. Intelligence officers dismissed this as routine activity and did not raise the alert level.
A warning memo about unusual Hamas movements was sent to top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but the information was not treated as urgent.
“Today and yesterday, SIM cards were activated in certain areas of Gaza,” the memo sent at 2:45 a.m. that night reportedly stated. “This isn’t out of the ordinary, as similar checks were carried out by Hamas last year.”
Instead of acting on the report with urgency, the IDF Southern Command planned to discuss the situation the following morning. By that time, 5,000 Hamas-led fighters had already breached Israeli defenses, overwhelming security forces and leading to mass civilian casualties.
Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar in an accompanying statement acknowledged that if the agency had responded differently, the attack could have been prevented.
“The investigation revealed that if the Shin Bet had acted differently, in the years leading up to the attack and during the night of the attack — both at the professional level and the managerial level — the massacre would have been avoided. This is not the standard we expected of ourselves, or that the public expected of us,” Bar said in a statement.
“As the head of the organization, I will bear this heavy burden on my shoulders for the rest of my life,” he added.
The findings follow a separate IDF investigation, which also concluded that the military drastically underestimated Hamas’ capabilities and failed to protect Israeli civilians.
