"We know that Egypt warned Israel three days ago that an event like this could happen," AFP quoted Mr. McCaul as telling reporters on October 11, after he and other lawmakers were provided with information by US intelligence officials about the Hamas-Israel conflict.
"I don't want to reveal too much classified information but there was a warning given... I think the issue is to what extent," he said.
Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul
Mr McCaul also revealed that the attack by Hamas, the Palestinian political-military organization that controls the Gaza Strip, may have been planned a year in advance.
"We're not sure how we missed that information. We're not sure how Israel missed that," he said.
Cairo has not commented officially on Mr McCaul’s remarks. However, Egyptian media on October 11 quoted senior security sources denying reports in the Israeli press that such a warning had been issued.
Hamas-Israel conflict: "I want to be a normal child"
The news comes amid claims that Israeli intelligence failures contributed to the bloodiest attack in the country’s 75-year history. More than 1,500 Hamas militants breached the Gaza security fence and entered Israeli territory in a coordinated ground, air and sea assault on October 7, killing at least 1,200 people.
Questions have been raised about how an intelligence powerhouse like Israel could have been blindsided while the complexity of the attack suggests Hamas must have taken extensive preparations.
Israeli soldiers patrol in an area near Gaza on October 11.
Israel declared war on Hamas and responded with an unprecedented air campaign against targets in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 1,000 people.
The conflict has raised humanitarian concerns in the Gaza Strip. Reuters on October 11 quoted Egyptian security sources as saying that Cairo had discussed with the United States and other countries a plan to deliver humanitarian aid across the border with Gaza. Accordingly, the aid would go through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
Source link
Comment (0)