Military Censor Clears Details of Two Intelligence Signs Before October 7

Military censorship has permitted publication of two additional intelligence indications from the night before Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. The newly disclosed details, reported on November 4, concern the movements of senior Hamas commanders and preparations by the terrorist organization's antitank forces before the assault. One indication reportedly identified Mohammed Deif, the head of Hamas's military wing, entering Gaza's underground tunnel network with senior Hamas officials. The second concerned unusual operational changes and a distinctive pattern of preparations among Hamas's antitank forces. Both indications had previously been withheld from publication under military censorship. They add to the information examined concerning the intelligence failures before the attack, including the activation of special SIM cards and warnings from lookouts. The disclosure follows remarks by former IDF chief Herzi Halevi at Shurat HaDin's November 1 conference in New York. Halevi said: "October 7 was a failure that could have been prevented." He advocated a state commission of inquiry into the failures. In those remarks, Halevi described a shared prewar assessment among the IDF, Shin Bet and political leadership that Hamas preferred strengthening its rule in Gaza to going to war. He said Hamas had deliberately encouraged that mistaken assessment. Halevi also said Israel's threat priorities before the attack placed Iran first, Hezbollah second and Hamas third.