A Texas Congressman and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Wednesday that Egypt had warned Israel of Hamas’ surprise attack in the weeks leading up to the assault that has killed at least 1,200.
Representative Michael McCaul, a Republican, spoke Wednesday, confirming what Egyptian intelligence has previously said and contradicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
‘There seems to have been an intelligence failure. We’re not quite sure how we missed it. We’re not quite sure how Israel missed it,’ McCaul said.
He had just gotten a closed-door briefing from Biden administration officials for an update on the crisis.
‘We know Egypt had warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen. We know this has been planned perhaps as long as a year ago,’ McCaul added.
“אני לא יודע איך אנחנו החמצנו זאת, אני לא יודע איך ישראל החמיצה זאת – אני יודע שמצרים הזהירה את ישראל שלושה ימים לפני המתקפה”: דבריו של מייקל מקאול, יו”ר וועדת החוץ בבית הנבחרים האמריקאי pic.twitter.com/Wbfa6nVmqW
— המקום הכי חם בגיהנום (@ha_makom) October 11, 2023
Netanyahu’s office called reports that the Egyptians had warned them ‘fake news’ in a tweet sent out Monday.
‘The report to the effect that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a message in advance from Egypt is absolutely false,’ the PM’s office account posted.
‘No message in advance has arrived from Egypt and the Prime Minister has neither spoken, nor met, with the head of Egyptian intelligence since the formation of the government, neither directly nor indirectly. This is totally fake news,’ they added.
McCaul, when asked whom he’d been hearing from, said that the intelligence was out there.
‘I don’t want to get too into classifieds but a warning was given, I think the question is at what level’
In the wake of the attacks, allies who share intelligence with Israel said security agencies were misreading reality.
An Egyptian intelligence official said Egypt, which often serves as a mediator between Israel and Hamas, had spoken repeatedly with the Israelis about ‘something big,’ without elaborating.
He said Israeli officials were focused on the West Bank and played down the threat from Gaza.
