Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, the U.S. has stepped up its intelligence-gathering efforts in the Gaza Strip, but crucial gaps remain, Politico reported.
A year later, intel officials are still struggling to fully grasp Hamas’ inner workings, its readiness for a cease-fire and its long-term goals for Gaza, key factors needed to resolve the conflict and avoid escalation into a full-scale regional war.
For years, the U.S. focused its intelligence-gathering efforts on other foreign crises, including the Ukraine war, threats from China and the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Norman Roule, former national intelligence manager for Iran and senior adviser to the Counter Extremism Project, said, “The intelligence community is vast, but so are the number of priorities assigned to its staff.” He added, “Absent steady policymaker demand, the system moves resources — and demands on our partners — to targets that are perceived to have greater policymaker interest.”
Intelligence officers told lawmakers in briefings following the assault that they were caught off guard by the Oct. 7 attack, which, they said, clearly took months, if not years, to plan.
They admitted they had largely relied on Israel for inside info on Gaza and said Israelis failed to take seriously some of their internal warnings. Since then, U.S. intelligence agencies have increased efforts to track Hamas, including using drones and satellites. But those tactics can only do so much.
And because the enclave has been completely closed off since the Oct. 7 attacks, it’s been harder for U.S. intelligence officials to recruit human assets. Officials have had to turn elsewhere to collect info. But details on how the U.S. is going about it remain murky.
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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