People are wondering where the Israeli Defense Forces were while Hamas militants freely moved around communities near Gaza during those extended hours.
Some Israelis are saying that the army didn’t respond quickly enough when Hamas militants attacked, and some communities had to defend themselves while waiting for the military.
The full explanation for this will take time to understand, but it appears that the surprise, scale, and speed of the attack caught the defenses off guard. Israeli intelligence couldn’t uncover Hamas’s plans, as the group had been pretending it wasn’t capable of such a big attack. They also kept their communications private.
Hamas then used the element of surprise, along with the large scale and speed of their attack.
Hamas used thousands of rockets to create a diversion. They also launched drone attacks on Israel’s monitoring equipment along the border, causing significant damage to the security fence. They used heavy explosives and vehicles to make about 80 breaches in the fence.
In addition to these tactics, they employed motorized hang-gliders and motorbikes, with around 800 to 1,000 armed fighters pouring out of Gaza to attack various locations. These tactics appeared to overwhelm Israel’s defenses, at least temporarily.
The wide range of activities created confusion in Israel’s command and control centers, which were already quieter than usual on a Saturday morning, as it was also a religious holiday.
Some Hamas fighters targeted civilian communities, while others went after military outposts. There has been surprise that these outposts were not adequately defended and were captured, with images circulating of Israeli tanks in Hamas control.
The breaches in the border remained open long enough for hostages to be taken into Gaza before tanks were eventually deployed to close them.
Israel’s defenses appeared to have some weaknesses. Recent months saw a greater emphasis on security in the West Bank rather than Gaza, potentially leaving gaps in Gaza’s defense. Additionally, divisions within Israeli society over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies might have distracted the security establishment.
Israel is known for having one of the best military and intelligence capabilities in the Middle East and globally. However, they might have underestimated their opponents’ abilities in this situation.
The recent attacks have drawn comparisons to the 9/11 attacks in the US when nobody had anticipated that planes could be used as weapons. This was often called a “failure of imagination.” A similar lack of imagination might be one of the issues for Israel, leaving them unprepared for such an ambitious attack from their enemy.
These concerns will likely be examined in long-term investigations, but in the short term, the focus will be on figuring out the next steps rather than dwelling on what happened.
SOURCE:BBC