He didn’t clarify whether the warning was delivered directly to Prime Minister Netanyahu or passed through one of his aides, but his point was clear: Israel had been warned. Yet, the Israeli response was perplexing. The official shared that Israel appeared unconcerned, quickly shifting focus to the unstable situation in the West Bank.
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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(Photo: AP, GPO, Marc Israel Sellem)
McCaul was direct, but his comments were not without merit. Evidence soon emerged showing that the October 7 attack had been planned for at least a year. And in Israel, it was revealed that Hamas had been training its fighters near the Gaza border for at least two years to avoid detection. Meanwhile, Israel’s surveillance, despite heroic reports from its scouts, missed the threat altogether. These warnings had been there, but they were ignored.
When I spoke with the Egyptian official, I was assured that the intelligence provided to Israel had always been reliable, and I had no reason to doubt the information. I trusted it enough to publish it, knowing it could be verified. Foreign media outlets did the same, citing the same sources.
The key question now is: why was it so important for Egypt to inform Israel, only to face indifference? Why did Israeli officials ignore the warning? And, perhaps most importantly, why did Israel fail to take it seriously?
The country’s growing military buildup has sparked concerns. General Ahmed Safi al-Din, head of Egypt’s training program, clarified that Egypt’s increasing armament is meant to safeguard regional peace and stability, not to harm neighboring countries. Still, in Israel, there is growing unease.
Smadar PerryPhoto: Yariv KatzOutgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi recently remarked, “Egypt has a large army with advanced weapons. Right now, it’s not a threat, but the situation could change in an instant.”
The situation in the region remains precarious. The missed warning from Egypt serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of complacency and the consequences of underestimating the risks surrounding Israel. As tensions mount, one can only wonder how many more opportunities will be missed before the next crisis unfolds.
