The border between Israel and the Gaza Strip was considered one of the safest in the world – until it was attacked unimpeded by terrorists on Saturday morning. Hamas fighters entered Israeli villages, shooting dead and taking hostages. The attack was carried out without any warning; Not only Israel, but other major secret services have also failed completely.
Built in 1994 under the regime of then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, the barrier today is nearly 65 kilometers long. There are three crossroads: Eretz and Kerem Shalom to Israel and Rafah to Egypt.
Border Guard
For security reasons, there is a buffer zone of up to 300 meters on the Israeli side; Cameras, radar systems, sensors and border guards help in surveillance. In 2019, a 40-meter-deep and 60-kilometer-long underground wall was added to the facility to put an end to terrorist tunnel construction. Sensors in the wall will sound an alarm if the concrete is damaged or someone is digging nearby.
Its purpose was to protect Israeli villages especially near the Gaza Strip from attacks. The construction is said to have cost 40 million euros per meter. To the north is a sea barrier with breakwaters, barbed wire fences and underwater measuring devices. On Saturday, it could not stop hundreds of fighters: they arrived from the Mediterranean, airlifted with paragliders and broke the border barrier in off-road vehicles.
Hacker I work?
According to unconfirmed reports, the electronic security system at the border has been disrupted. Accordingly, smartphones are also not working in the border area. There is no official confirmation regarding this from the official side.
“The whole system has failed. It’s not just one component. The entire security architecture has failed to protect Israeli citizens,” said Jonathan Conricus, a former international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces. Dem US-sender CNN.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) shrugged off questions over the weekend about the reasons for the intelligence and security failures. Army spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told CNN that Israel is focused on the ongoing fighting and protecting civilians. “We’ll talk later about what happened intelligence-wise,” Hecht said. A review of the events will probably take place after the kidnapped hostages have been rescued and the situation has somewhat stabilized.
The Iron Dome sank
According to Israeli reports, terrorists fired 2,200 rockets at Israel on Saturday morning alone. Israel’s “Iron Dome” defense system was apparently overwhelmed by numbers and unable to intercept them all. Additionally, it takes time to recharge the system when its capacity is used.
It will shake Israel to its foundations.
Jonathan SchanzerAuthor of the book
Looking the wrong way
Apparently Israel considered attacking on another front and therefore looking in the wrong direction. As Israeli reserve officer and former IDF spokesman Jacob Dalal writes in the Times of Israel newspaper, this type of attack from Lebanon was expected by the Iranian-backed Hezbollah.
In military situations, Dalal writes, “Hezbollah will attack from the north, not Hamas from the Gaza Strip.” No one would have thought Hamas had such a capability, especially considering the intelligence provided by Israel’s Shabak and IDF intelligence.
It’s not just Israel’s services that have failed
“This will shake Israel to its foundations,” said author Jonathan Shanzer News site Politico. “Most of the defenses that Israel has relied on for the past 20 years seem to have been penetrated. This certainly raises significant questions about Israeli military intelligence and the Mossad.
Meanwhile, experts are shocked that not only the Israeli services, but also the “Five Eyes”, namely the secret services of the United States, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia, did not see the attack coming. One reason for this is the focus on other conflicts, such as Russia’s war in Ukraine and China’s military presence in the South China Sea.
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