Ignored intelligence, Palestinian terror brutality, and Arab silence led to Israel’s deadliest massacre.
A bombshell disclosure in the Knesset has reignited fury over Israel’s intelligence failures preceding the October 7 massacre. Deputy Minister Almog Cohen revealed that a Shin Bet agent was operating inside Gaza just hours before Hamas launched its unprecedented assault—yet critical warnings were never relayed.
Speaking from the Knesset podium, Cohen accused Shin Bet Director Ronen Bar of withholding vital information from both decision-makers and the public. According to Cohen, at 3:30 a.m. on the morning of October 7, an undercover Shin Bet asset—codenamed “Green Sardine”—reported an unusual and alarming development: Hamas Nukhba terrorists were gathering in Gaza mosques.
The agent reportedly contacted his handler and flagged the activity as abnormal and threatening. Yet the intelligence never reached the officials who could have acted. No alerts. No mobilization. No warning to the communities that would soon be overrun.
Cohen, a resident of Ofakim, personally fought Palestinian terrorists during the massacre and lost friends and neighbors in the carnage. His questions cut through the chamber with raw anger and moral force:
“Why didn’t anyone pass on this information? Why did we have to die in the streets?”
The revelation sharpens an already painful truth. Israel was not defeated by lack of courage—its civilians and soldiers fought heroically. It was betrayed by silence, delay, and systemic failure at the highest intelligence levels. While Hamas terrorists planned mass murder, and while Arab and Palestinian leaders glorified the bloodshed, Israel’s early warning systems collapsed at the decisive moment.
As Israel continues its war of survival, accountability is no longer optional. A nation that demands responsibility from its soldiers must demand it—without hesitation—from those entrusted with its intelligence and security.
October 7 was not only an act of terror. It was a failure to act on warning. And Israel will not move forward until the truth is fully exposed.
