Israel’s ambassador to France admitted that his country was not “sufficiently prepared” for the recent attack launched by Hamas, citing a failure of the intelligence services. Hamas, a Palestinian terror group, surprised Israel with a massive attack, firing thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending fighters to kill or kidnap people, resulting in at least 70 casualties.
In an interview with France’s Europe 1 radio, Ambassador Raphael Morav acknowledged the lack of preparedness, stating, “Following this surprise, we were not sufficiently prepared for it, we could even say barely prepared.” When asked about a possible failure of the Israeli intelligence services, Morav responded, “Certainly, certainly, yes… because normally we should have been prepared.” He emphasized the need for lessons to be learned from this incident.
The Hamas offensive, which took place in the early morning, involved attacks by air, land, and sea from the Gaza Strip. In response, Israel conducted air strikes on the blockaded coastal enclave, marking the bloodiest escalation with the Palestinians since May 2021. The conflict resulted in a death toll of 198, according to Gaza authorities, along with hundreds more wounded on both sides.
Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, which led to Israel imposing a crippling blockade on the impoverished enclave, home to 2.3 million people.