There is no doubt the country with the most effective intelligence capability in the world is Israel. This is how it should be as it is surrounded by enemies, leaving its survival dependent upon its ability to stay one step ahead of them. To effectively do this, Israel depends on various anti-terrorist initiatives such as…
There is no doubt the country with the most effective intelligence capability in the world is Israel. This is how it should be as it is surrounded by enemies, leaving its survival dependent upon its ability to stay one step ahead of them.
To effectively do this, Israel depends on various anti-terrorist initiatives such as infiltrating terrorist groups, using paid informants, monitoring communications, etc. Intelligence personnel are taught to look for anything out of the ordinary suggesting terrorist activity is under foot. For example, years ago Israeli intelligence rightly determined an attack was imminent when terrorist leaders suddenly relocated their mistresses outside of the soon-to-be zone of hostilities.
That said, at 6:30 a.m. on Oct. 7, Israel suffered its own 9/11 surprise attack, launched by the terrorist group Hamas and undetected by Israeli intelligence. It was the Jewish Sabbath and the morning of a festival – the last of a series of Jewish high holidays. Hamas initiated an unprecedented, multi-front attack in which an estimated 5,000 rockets were fired. New, short-range rockets carrying up to 200 kg of explosives were fired in dense waves so as to overwhelm Israel’s Iron Dome system, which is designed to intercept those projected to hit higher populated areas. Drones, which have proven very effective in the Ukraine conflict, were also employed against Israel.
Meanwhile, from the Gaza Strip, which Israel abandoned in 2005 and was taken over by Hamas two years later, thousands of terrorists (so far 1,500 militant bodies have been identified) infiltrated Israel’s borders in numerous locations by air, sea and land, killing hundreds of Israelis as they did so. In a well-planned attack, they „rode into Israel on Toyota pickup trucks armed with machine guns and on motorcycles with one terrorist riding and another shooting bursts of automatic fire.“ Reports indicate terrorists infiltrated from Jordan as well.
Disembarking from their vehicles, they went door-to-door where stunned occupants were either killed or taken hostage. Approximately 150 hostages were captured, including in one case the parents of a baby left alone crying for them. Hamas boasts it has taken enough hostages to negotiate the release of all Palestinian Authority prisoners held in Israel.
At least 44 Israeli soldiers were killed in the initial onslaught with others also taken hostage. Terrorists holed up in the Sderot Police Station killed 20 Israeli policemen before orders were given to blow up the building. Over 1,200 Israelis are said to have died with thousands more wounded. Bodies of the dead reveal that Hamas terrorists took great pleasure in defiling them whether men, women or children.
In the Gaza envelope settlements, terrorists invaded 22 of them, killing whole families. If residents retreated to their airtight bomb shelters, those homes were set on fire. It took Israeli forces four hours to respond. Its air force began bombing Hamas occupied buildings, forgoing its normal policy of providing occupants prior notice of a bombardment so as not to endanger any civilians.
