US intelligence warned the Joe Biden administration of a growing risk of conflict between Palestine and Israel in the weeks before the devastating attack by the Hamas group that left over 1,300 Israelis dead, claims a report.
According to CNN, US intelligence reports from late September and early October warned of a growing risk of Hamas violence, including rocket attacks across the border. A day before the attack, US officials shared reports from Israel indicating unusual Hamas activity, which are now clear signs that an attack was imminent.
On October 6, Hamas operatives began a sensational multi-pronged assault on Israel, launching thousands of rockets from Gaza and sending personnel into Israeli territories through a sensational land-sea-air operation. The large-scale attack has killed at least 1,300 Israelis and wounded thousands of others. According to Israeli authorities, at least 120 citizens were captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza, with shocking images circulating online of bloodied hostages.
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As the onslaught began, panic-stricken Israelis hid in their homes with reports rife that Hamas operatives were going door-to-door, shooting civilians or dragging them away.
US intelligence failed to predict the magnitude and brutality of Hamas's operation, CNN quoting intelligence sources said. It is unclear whether these assessments were shared with Israel, which provides much of the intelligence the US uses in its reports.
Intelligence officials regularly flag Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank as areas of concern in briefings to senior leaders, the report says.
Intelligence analysts produce intelligence assessments to inform policymakers' decision-making. Over the past year, the US was repeatedly warned by its own intelligence agencies and its Middle Eastern allies but it is unclear whether the US and Israel took these warnings seriously enough.
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A senior official from an Arab country said they had repeatedly warned the US and Israel that "Palestinian anger" was rising and could lead to violence, but their warnings were ignored, the report said.
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) conducted targeted raids in Gaza over the past 24 hours to clear the area of insurgents and weapons, as well as to search for missing people.
Israel has accused Hamas of taking at least 120 Israeli, foreign, and dual national hostages during the attacks last week.
"Over the past 24 hours, IDF (Israeli military) forces carried out localised raids inside the territory of the Gaza Strip to complete the effort to cleanse the area of terrorists and weaponry," an Israeli army statement said.
At least 1,900 Gazans -- including over 600 children -- have been killed in wave after wave of Israeli airstrikes on the densely populated Gaza enclave.
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