For the first time since the beginning of the war in Gaza, Shin Bet Chief Ronen Bar instructed the organization to launch operational investigations in the intelligence agency’s departments and units related to the events of October 7 and the issues that preceded them, Ynet learned Thursday. With this, the Shin Bet is joining the move started by the IDF, which has already begun probes into the Hamas attack.
More stories:
Sources in the Shin Bet said that, due to the fact that the investigations are taking place during the fighting in Gaza, they are expected to last for several weeks, and possibly months. Meanwhile, State Comptroller Matanyahu Englman has begun collecting materials from the Shin Bet for the inquiry he’s conducting.
The Shin Bet confirmed that investigations into October 7 have indeed started, alongside fighting in the Gaza Strip and counterterror operations in the West Bank, as the Muslim holy month Ramadan is set to begin March 10.
The Shin Bet will investigate what happened on the night between October 6 and 7, when alerts about a possible Hamas terrorist attack were received; the initial signs that were seen and not interpreted correctly as a launch of an offensive; the Israeli SIM cards activated by the Hamas terrorists before the attack; and the fact that no human agent was available within Hamas to report the terror group’s plans in advance.
On the night before October 7, a discussion was held with IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi and other senior military officials. The Shin Bet understood that something was taking place, and the Shin Bet Chief Bar arrived at his headquarters and remained there until the start of the attack.
"The responsibility lies on me, we failed to provide a warning ahead of time," Bar said after the start of the war, and now investigations have begun within the agency in order to understand how and why this happened.