In Nahal Oz, a kibbutz in southern Israel, with just over four hundred inhabitants, near the border with the Gaza Strip, the Israeli soldiers on guard apparently noticed Hamas militiamen taking part in an exercise along the separation barrier between Israel and the Strip. A training that involved the simultaneous launch of rockets and the assault on Israeli tanks. The soldiers made a report to their superiors, who, however, underestimated the report, judging it as a normal training activity of the terrorist group. A few days later, however, that simple “exercise” turned out to be a real, well-planned attack, which gave rise to the bloodiest clash between Israel and Hamas in the last decade.
More than eight months after that tragic 7 October 2023, news is leaking out that confirms that both the army and the government leaders were aware that something unusual was about to happen in the Gaza Strip. Those responsible for Israeli espionage, in fact, received coded messages, in which it was highlighted that the Hamas militiamen were practicing possible incursions on military outposts and an effective action which involved hoisting their flag on a synagogue . Very detailed descriptions, which the heads of the Israeli secret services, however, underestimated. If taken into due consideration, would these reports have prevented the massacre of 1200 Israelis and the kidnapping of 250?
Always from news that begins to leak, it would seem that it was friendly fire that caused a large number of victims on that dramatic 7 October. There is no mention of exact numbers, reference is made to a “large number” and to “multiple incidents of our forces shooting at our forces”, such as the grenades thrown at the houses of Kibbutz Beeri because, says the investigation, the General Hiram ordered to “enter inside, even at the cost of civilian casualties”.
Of all the messages sent, some decrypted emails have been released in recent days. It is learned that a manager of Unit 8200, the espionage structure responsible for decoding electromagnetic signals and specialized in cyber warfare, judged those signals as “an imaginary scenario”. The coded document was called “Wall of Jericho”, it described down to the smallest detail everything that would happen in the devastating invasion that was then carried out. The army spokesperson stated that since in recent days the IDF is absolutely focused on the fight against the terrorist organization of Hamas, only at the end of hostilities will a thorough, incisive and uncompromising investigation be conducted, with the publication of the results.
If the secret services and government had intervenedthey would probably also have averted the deaths of 37,431 Gazans, the 85,653 wounded and the 314 Israeli soldiers killed in the ground offensive against Hamas and in operations on the Gaza border.
Meanwhile, the situation of this absurd war It gets more complicated day after day.
Israeli tanks pushing deeper and deeper into the western part of Rafah, in southern Gaza, they shoot at the tents of displaced people, causing death and destruction. But it is also rumored that only fifty hostages, of the 116 held by Hamas, are still alive after 259 days from the kidnapping. It was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself, accompanied by his wife Sara, who indirectly announced it to his family shortly after the death of other prisoners, whose names were not disclosed, was notified. «We are committed to bringing all the hostages home. Alive or dead. We will not leave anyone in the Gaza Strip.” Unfortunately, negotiations to reach an agreement for the release of the hostages, including the return of the bodies of those killed in captivity or during the Hamas assault, have made no progress in recent weeks; on the one hand, the terrorist group which insists on a permanent suspension of the fighting, on the other, Netanyahu who rejects the proposal.
In Israel, meanwhile, protests against the government continue. Thousands of people demonstrated against the prime minister, blocking one of the country’s main highways, Route 6, with tires set on fire. Demonstrations that have lasted for weeks now where new elections, the removal of Netanyahu and an exchange agreement with Hamas are being loudly requested to bring the hostages home.
Tension is also increasing between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu. Relationships are no longer idyllic. Last Tuesday, in an English-language video, Netanyahu reportedly told Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, that it was “inconceivable and unacceptable” that Washington was “withholding weapons and ammunition” destined for Israel. The response from the White House was not long in coming. “It was disconcerting to say the least, certainly disappointing, considering that no other country is doing more to help Israel defend itself from the threat of Hamas,” White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters last Thursday. The idea that we had somehow stopped helping Israel in its self-defense needs is absolutely not correct”, also calling Netanyahu’s intervention “irritating and disappointing”.
And the border with Lebanon is getting hotter. Yesterday morning, Israeli forces reportedly conducted attacks in the area of the city of Al Wazzani, located in the south of the Cedar Country. A Hezbollah base in the Hula and Talloussa areas was also attacked. The head of the Lebanese terrorist group, Hassan Nasrallah, sent a threatening message to the Israeli government, declaring that no place in Israel would be safe if a real war broke out between the two enemies, also threatening, at the same time, Cyprus and other areas of the Mediterranean. “Cyprus is not involved and will not be dragged into any war or conflict – said the spokesperson of the Cypriot government, Konstantinos Letymbiotis – therefore, the statements of the Hezbollah leader do not correspond to reality”. Nicosia reacted with surprise and disappointment to Hasan Nasrallah’s threats on Wednesday that Cyprus could become a target if it allowed Israel to use its territory in a possible conflict between the two sides. Cypriot officials have insisted that the island republic remains a “pillar of peace” in a volatile region.
Meanwhile, Armenia announces that it has recognized the State of Palestine.
