Over-reliance on technology: How Hamas exploited Israel’s vulnerabilities Man stabs person at French school – terror investigation

During their major attack, the Hamas terrorists apparently knew very well where the holes were in the Israeli security structure in the Gaza Strip. Video footage of a later murdered Hamas commander shows how the attackers managed to attack an Israeli reconnaissance command post. The New York Times reports that a unit of ten attackers from the Gaza Strip had a map showing their targets. They entered the building through an unlocked door. There they shot two Israeli soldiers and entered the computer room.

The American newspaper has checked the video recordings and considers them authentic. They are an example of how Hamas apparently knew very well how to invade an area of ​​almost 77 square kilometers, take 120 hostages and kill more than 1,300 people.

Apparently without the otherwise vaunted Israeli secret service Mossad or the army (IDF) having the slightest idea, the terrorists carefully prepared their attack. Drones were used to cut off Israeli communications and CCTV. Tractors and explosives broke through the fence and barricades, and 2,100 terrorists entered through these holes – on small pickup trucks or motorcycles.

State-of-the-art border facility 65 kilometers long

This involves a state-of-the-art border system: two metal fences six meters high, with barbed wire above and concrete below that extends into the ground. The border was also secured with sensors, cameras and watchtowers. 140,000 tons of iron and steel were installed over a length of 65 kilometers, Spiegel writes.

“This barrier, a creative, technological project of the first order, deprives Hamas of one of the capabilities it wanted to develop,” then-Defense Minister Benny Gantz said at a ceremony marking the project’s completion in 2019.

It is still unclear where Hamas got its detailed knowledge of how to overcome this barrier. Tel Aviv is saying that after the end of the war, they want to investigate in detail how the attackers managed to surprise Israel – after all, one of the best equipped armies in the world.

Audrey Kurth Cronin, head of the Carnegie Mellon Institute for Security and Technology in the US, gave Spiegel two reasons: Israel had focused on the West Bank and relied too much on border technology.

The fact that Hamas was underestimated could also have helped. The West assumed that the terrorist organization had increasingly taken over governance in Gaza. Hamas made Israelis believe it was “involved in the government of Gaza,” Ali Barakeh, a Hamas leader, said in a television interview on Monday. “All this time, Hamas has been preparing under the table for this major attack,” he added. Cronin also sees it this way: “In this case, they behaved almost like insurgents or a pseudo-state, with comprehensive planning, sufficient people, coordination and targeted firepower for an overwhelming attack.”

Israeli army communications have been disabled

As rockets flew toward Israel, terrorists were simultaneously attacking apparently pre-selected targets: military installations and kibbutzim. In a short time they overwhelmed the Israeli border guards. According to research by the New York Times, they knew exactly where the computer centers were located in the army facilities. They destroyed the computers and paralyzed parts of the IDF’s communications. Drones dropped explosive charges on radio towers on the border. This in turn delayed reports from Israeli soldiers to other units about the attack. Many were defenseless and unable to defend themselves or nearby civilians.

Hamas documents found on one of the slain soldiers suggested the terrorist organization was highly organized. There were scouts, saboteurs and drivers, but also helpers who had to provide fire protection with mortars. One of the 2022 documents detailed how to capture a kibbutz from different sides.

There were estimates of how big the resistance might be and how many vehicles Israeli soldiers have at their disposal. During the attack, additional aid workers should be present at key intersections to check whether Israel is sending supplies. And: The papers already stated that hostages would be taken. They have also been used in the past to negotiate with Israel and free Hamas members from prison.

The attack a week ago showed how precise these plans were. A border guard told Spiegel that the attackers even shot at the cameras, “until at a certain point we could no longer see anything.” Ultimately, she and her comrades were told there was only one thing left to do: “run for our lives into the shelter.”

“There was no one who understood the overall situation.”

The Israeli soldiers on the border with the Gaza Strip apparently reacted chaotically. Brigadier General Dan Goldfus told the US newspaper that he was in Tel Aviv when the attacks began. He immediately drove south – without any orders being given. He then wanted to inform other soldiers; many did not answer the phone. “There was no one who understood the overall situation,” he said.

While on site, he met other soldiers and civilians. They spontaneously decided what to do – and started a counterattack. Communications facilities were also recaptured. They overwhelmed the ten terrorists who had raided the army facilities and occupied the computer room. According to the newspaper, the video recordings of the Hamas commander show him being shot: the camera drops down and briefly shows his head.

Expensive fencing and modern technology have not been able to keep Hamas out. The American expert sees an important reason for this: Israel has relied too much on new technical methods and less on human sources. The border facility gave residents on the Israeli side a sense of security, which turned out to be false last week.

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