Israeli officials are currently facing increased scrutiny in light of recent attacks carried out by the Hamas group during a Jewish holiday. Questions are being raised about the performance of the renowned Mossad intelligence agency.
On Saturday, Hamas initiated a series of attacks across 22 locations outside the Gaza Strip, reaching towns and communities as far as 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Gaza border. This attack caught the Israeli security forces off guard, despite their previous success in preventing such actions against the Jewish state.
What could be the reason behind the attack?
According to an independent strategic analyst who wished to remain anonymous: “This was an effort to dismantle the peace accord between Israel and Saudi Arabia and thus to disrupt the strategic shift US was attempting to achieve. It’s another blow to counter US global might.”
Adding, “At the national level, it is exploitation of weakening political will by Hezbollah and its backers. At the operational level it is an utter failure of intelligence, deterrence of Israel and military dominance that Israel enjoyed so far. Technology as a substitute for human resources is under question.”
Is it really a failure of Mossad?
Sharing his views with Financial Express Online, Dr (Prof) Nishakant Ojha, Eminent Expert- Counter Terrorism (West Asia & Middle East) Advisor-Cyber & Aerospace Security, says: “As per my understanding this is not a failure of Mossad, in fact this is something blink of eyes, the southern part of Israel, mainly the Gaza Strip where the attacks happened was all under the settlement zone, as per the international agreement there were 07 Settlement Area or Zones which was formed under the consensus of Israel & Palestine and which were under the eyes of International Organizations like UN.”
“The area had the residing population of the refugees and the people migrated from different other regions. It never ever happened and estimated that the areas which were under the observations of International Organizations, the vulnerabilities could happen there,” Dr (Prof) Nishakant Ojha explains.
There was also not so much Army deployed with the modernized weapon which Israel commands. This was strategically used by Hamas as an opportunity & these regions as a soft target for attacks from Land, Sea & Air. Also, to be noticed that the attack happened on all seven-settlement zones at one time.
“Can you believe the terrorists flying on Parachute & Gliders on Borders Areas cannot be seen by the Defense People of Israel, it’s a baseless argument to talk about the capabilities of Mossad, they are strong enough to handle these situations effectively. The reason why the Israel Army Could not respond immediately was the attacks from all 7 Corners at a time, and this took time and delay for the Backup Army troops of IDF to reach on the attacked points,” he opines.
Political Fallout
There will be a major political impact certainly, Mr Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government appears to be in a deep hole, facing agonizing decisions over how sweeping the Israeli retaliation in Gaza should be. Gaza, controlled by Hamas, which the United States identifies as a terrorist organization, has long seethed in an overcrowded state of poverty and resentment, under a 16-year Israeli blockade.
If it is not a failure of Mossad then what happened?
It is a natural phenomenon, the most unfocused areas which do not correlate or show any major impact on the National security issues are always used as a soft target by the militants.
“It is not that this was a security failure. It was a failure on the part of the Mossad to ignore that disputed region casually, it’s more of ignorance then a failure,” Dr Ojha states.
According to him this operation of Hamas will be used as an arm twisting to get their Palestine Prisoners released from Israel Jail who had been languishing for many years, these prisoners also include Administrative Prisoners from Palestine Government. “It is more of Capability demonstration rather than a serious war.”
In his opinion regarding the Operations & Intelligence capabilities of MOSSAD there is no logic for any debate that Intelligence & Operations are equally effective. Also the questions of encroaching the disputed land are not a point as these areas are already under the Israel Settlement Zone.
What is known so far?
The recent lapses in intelligence have raised concerns about the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency, commonly known as the Shin Bet. These agencies did not issue any warnings about an imminent assault by a terrorist organization operating out of the Gaza Strip. What makes this intelligence failure even more surprising is that senior IDF and defense ministry officials had publicly stated that Hamas was not particularly interested in open conflict just last week.
US officials noted that if the Israelis had knowledge of an impending attack, they did not share it with Washington. This lack of information-sharing left US officials unprepared for the situation.
Despite Israel having one of the most extensive and well-funded intelligence networks in the Middle East, which includes informants and agents within Palestinian militant groups and similar organizations in Lebanon and Syria, the system failed in this instance.
The consequences of this failure have been significant, with casualties on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides since Israel began retaliating. The attack has stirred painful memories of the Yom Kippur War in 1973, which occurred on the same date exactly 50 years ago. During that war, Israel’s enemies launched a surprise attack on the holiest day in Judaism, Yom Kippur, catching Israelis off guard.
The recent attack by Hamas involved thousands of rockets launched from Gaza, as well as a coordinated land-sea-air assault into Israeli territory. The attackers infiltrated towns, kibbutz communities, and even an outdoor music festival. Israelis hid in their homes amid reports of Hamas fighters conducting terrorist attacks, including shootings and abductions.
The Hamas assault was further augmented by boats and motorized paragliders that breached Israeli soil, employing guerrilla tactics. This attack is considered the worst on Israeli soil since the 1973 Yom Kippur War, despite the efforts of the Shin Bet and Mossad, Israel’s renowned security and intelligence services.
About Mossad
Mossad, in particular, is known for its extensive resources, with a substantial budget and a large staff. Its espionage capabilities extend to infiltrating Palestinian militant groups and hostile countries such as Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Mossad’s various departments handle a wide range of espionage activities, including assassinations, political liaisons, psychological warfare, technology development, and intelligence research.
Mossad’s Challenges
Israel and Mossad have a strong track record of preventing external attacks, which makes the recent failure to anticipate the Hamas attack on Saturday particularly noteworthy.
Questions have arisen regarding how Hamas managed to amass a large number of rockets and missiles so close to Israeli territory without Israeli intelligence detecting it. Also, there are concerns about why Israel’s reliable Iron Dome missile defense system could not intercept all of the incoming projectiles from Gaza.