Israel was surprised by the Hamas attacks on Saturday – a failure of the secret service, military and government, as those responsible have now publicly admitted for the first time.
After the surprising Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, those responsible took on some responsibility for the first time. “We are the government at the time it happened. We are responsible,” Education Minister Joav Kisch said on Israeli television. The army is also responsible.
“We have forgotten where we live”
Israel was completely taken by surprise by the attack on Saturday, even though the army and the secret service are considered to be leading the way internationally. “We were dealing with nonsense,” said Kisch, who belongs to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. “We have forgotten where we live.” But now is not the time to deal with that. “Now we have to concentrate on winning,” said Kisch.
“We will learn lessons”
Israeli Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi also acknowledged the military’s failure to protect civilians in light of Hamas’ devastating terrorist attack on the country. The military is responsible for the security of the country and its citizens, Halevi said. There was a failure in the area around the Gaza Strip on Saturday morning. “We will learn lessons, we will investigate, but now is the time for war,” Halevi said.
The Palestinian Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA, Israel and the EU, launched a major attack on Israel on Saturday morning and carried out massacres in several places. Around 1,200 people were killed and around 150 others were taken hostage and kidnapped. According to Palestinian information, more than 1,400 people have been killed in Israel’s subsequent counterattacks on the Gaza Strip.