Israel’s ambassador to France, Raphael Morav, in an interview with French media on Saturday, admitted the possibility of the failure of the Israeli special services, as well as the insufficient preparation of his country for the attack of Hamas, AFP reports. , quoted by Agerpres.

A massive rocket attack on Israel by Hamas militants in GazaPhoto: JACK GUEZ / AFP / Profimedia

“If we had a minimum of information, we would have taken measures for a counterattack. We would be ready. Therefore, it was probably a failure of the special services, I do not hide it. Now it is important to give an adequate response to this attack,” said the Israeli diplomat on the BFMTV channel.

“As a result of this surprise, we were not prepared enough, you could say, at all,” he told Europe 1, adding that “lessons need to be learned” in a context where Israel’s security services are known for their effectiveness. AFP. “The goal is not to repeat it again,” he noted.

Israel and the Gaza Strip have been at war since the start of a spectacular military offensive by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Saturday morning, which launched thousands of rockets and entered Israeli territory, where they also took hostages.

An Israeli army spokesman said Saturday night, without giving details, that “hundreds” of gunmen had entered Israel from Gaza since early morning.

He noted that the Israeli military was fighting “terrorists who invaded” Israel in 22 locations, and there was a “serious hostage situation” in two towns east of Gaza, Beeri and Ofakim.

  • On Saturday, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched its worst attack on Israel in years in a surprise attack that combined armed fighters who breached security barriers and a barrage of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. The attack happened at dawn on Saturday, during the great Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
  • The death toll is hundreds of dead and thousands of wounded in both Israeli and Palestinian camps.
  • “We are at war and we will win,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded. “Our enemy will pay a price he has never known before,” Netanyahu said in a video speech.

Events on the surprise war of Hamas against Israel – LIVETEXT on HotNews.ro