An Israeli armored vehicle leaving the Gaza Strip on Feb. 26, 2024. (Credit: Menahem Kahana/AFP)
BEIRUT — The Israeli military is considering opening investigations into operational shortcomings that led to Oct. 7, "without waiting for the end of the fighting," as desired by the government, according to an article published in The Times of Israel newspaper.
The Israeli newspaper indicates that around midnight, before the Hamas assault on Oct. 7, Israeli intelligence services observed that dozens of Palestinian fighters from the Gaza Strip had activated Israeli SIM cards in their phones.
This information was disclosed on Monday by the Israeli military after receiving clearance from its censorship service following the broadcast of a Channel 14 program the day before, which revealed that nearly a thousand SIM cards had been activated simultaneously at midnight on the eve of the attack.
In response to these revelations, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet (internal intelligence services) released a statement asserting that the information claiming a thousand SIM cards were activated a few hours before the Oct. 7 attack was "false and far from reality." They admitted, however, that "several indicative signs accumulated, including the activation of only dozens of SIM cards, which had already been connected to the network during past events."
Regardless, six hours later, Hamas had entered Israel from Gaza by land, air and sea, resulting in around 1,200 casualties, according to Israel figures, and 253 hostages.
According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli military stated that it would investigate all incidents and security flaws preceding the Oct. 7 attack.
These inquiries, expected to be launched by the end of the month, aim to draw operational conclusions for the military and will not address the executive branch's policies, the newspaper reports. The decision not to wait for the end of the Gaza war to examine the reasons for the malfunctions was attributed to Israeli chief of staff Herzli Halevi, according to The Times of Israel.
In early December, the newspaper reported that on the night of Oct. 6-7, a few hours before the assault, an email was sent from an Israeli army base at the Palestinian enclave's border, indicating 'certain signs from Gaza' of an imminent attack. The Shin Bet also noted suspicious signs.
Around 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, Halevi was informed of the situation, and by 5 a.m., he held an assessment meeting over the phone. Before that, the chief of the Israeli military's operations had conducted his own assessment. Noticing signs of an imminent attack, he sought explanations to determine whether it was an exercise or not, without reaching a conclusion.
Halevi ordered that the Israeli Air Force be informed of the imminent attack risk. Another chief of Israeli military intelligence, Aharon Haliva, was not involved in these consultations as he was on vacation in Eilat, according to The Times of Israel. "It would not have changed the final result in any way," he reportedly said to those around him.
Following the Oct. 7 attack, the Israeli military launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip, which has to date resulted in nearly 30,000 deaths, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. According to Israel, 130 hostages are still held in Gaza, with 31 reported dead. A one-week cease-fire in November facilitated the release of over a hundred hostages, including 80 Israelis, in exchange for around 240 Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.
Discussions between representatives of Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar have taken place recently in Paris and Doha. On Tuesday, Qatar expressed 'hope' in relation to achieving a truce between Israel and Hamas before Ramadan.
