Yesterday, Sunday, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation published a report stating that a senior Israeli army official had warned more than a year ago that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) was planning an attack on Israel in which they would cross the border, as happened on the seventh of last October.
In November 2022, Major General Eliezer Toledano, who was then head of the Southern Command, presented a pre-emptive attack plan to paralyze Hamas amid warnings that it was planning an attack, as it had become more powerful over the years.
According to the report, Toledano presented a three-step plan: the first was a pre-emptive attack, which would have paralyzed Hamas’ strength and ability to launch an attack, the second step was to completely eliminate the movement’s ability to operate inside the Gaza Strip, and the third step was to return the Israeli army to the Gaza Strip for the first time. Since the disengagement in 2005.
Toledano was replaced as head of Southern Command in July 2023, and currently serves as Strategic Director of the General Staff.
Since Operation Al-Aqsa Flood on October 7, several reports have claimed that the Israeli army ignored warning signs of potential threats in the Gaza Strip, and senior officials in the Israeli army have been highlighted for their failure to respond to the attack.
More recently, Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the head of the IDF’s intelligence unit, charged with interrogating the army’s assessments and perceptions, warned four times in the three weeks before October 7 that Hamas could launch an attack soon.
In addition, reports said last November that the IDF’s Signal Intelligence Unit 8200 had warned senior officers before the October 7 attack that Hamas was preparing for a highly organized and meticulously planned mass attack. But they were told that their fears were “delusions.”
Last week, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy announced the formation of a committee to investigate the army’s failures that led to the attack of last October 7.
On October 7, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) and other Palestinian factions launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, in response to the ongoing Israeli attacks against the Palestinian people, in which they launched an attack on the Israeli settlements in the Gaza envelope, resulting in the killing of about 1,500 Israelis at the beginning of the battle. About 250 others were captured.
Source : Israeli press + Websites