Until nearly the start of the attack, nobody believed the situation was serious enough to wake up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to three Israeli defense officials.<\/p>\n
Within hours, the Tequila troops were embroiled in a battle with thousands of Hamas gunmen who penetrated Israel\u2019s vaunted border fence, sped in trucks and on motorbikes into southern Israel and attacked villages and military bases.<\/p>\n
The most powerful military force in the Middle East had not only completely underestimated the magnitude of the attack, it had totally failed in its intelligence-gathering efforts, mostly due to hubris and the mistaken assumption that Hamas was a threat contained.<\/p>\n
Despite Israel\u2019s sophisticated technological prowess in espionage, Hamas gunmen had undergone extensive training for the assault, virtually undetected for at least a year. The fighters, who were divided into different units with specific goals, had meticulous information on Israel\u2019s military bases and the layout of kibbutzim.<\/p>\n
The country\u2019s once invincible sense of security was shattered.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n How Years of Israeli Failures on Hamas Led to a Devastating Attack. And a Prime Minister who refuses to accept elementary responsibility. A tour de force of reporting @nytimesworld<\/a> : https:\/\/t.co\/FYWsfn18EU<\/a><\/p>\n — Michael Powell (@powellAtlantic) October 30, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n