Hamas attack surprised U.S.
Israel had advance intel, but didn’t alert White House: NSC
U.S. intelligence agencies had no knowledge of Hamas’ detailed plan of attack prior to the Oct. 7 assault on Israel — the subject of a recent bombshell report — a top White House official said Sunday.
“The intelligence community has indicated that they did not have access to this document,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” referring to a Thursday New York Times article finding Israeli officials saw and dismissed Hamas’ battle plan a year before the attack.
“There’s no indications at this time that they had any access to this document beforehand,” Kirby added.
Israeli officials have come under criticism for failing to prevent the attack in which about 1,200 people were killed and roughly 240 others taken hostage.
Months earlier, Israeli officials learned in detail of the type of attack Hamas was plotting but considered the plans “aspirational,” according to The Times.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has dodged blame for the carnage that prompted a fierce Israeli military response, saying the time to review the matter will come later.
Kirby echoed those remarks on Sunday.
“Intelligence is a mosaic, and sometimes, you know, you can fashion things together and get a pretty good picture. Other times, you know, there’s pieces of the puzzle that are missing,” he said.
“I think there’s going to be a time and a place for Israel to do that sort of forensic work.”
Meanwhile, U.S. aid for Israel continues to stall in Congress.
President Biden has asked it to approve nearly $106 billion in emergency funding — including $61.4 billion for Ukraine’s struggle with Russia, $14.3 billion for Israel’s war with Hamas and $13.6 billion to boost security at the U.S. border with Mexico, among other initiatives.
Republicans will support aid for Israel and Ukraine if the package includes an immigration crackdown, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) predicted Sunday. “We’ve got to actually bring a proposal forward that will actually make that difference, that could actually reform how we handle asylum … from top to bottom,” he told ABC’s “This Week.”
Dems have voiced skepticism on tying immigration reform, which has long eluded Congress, to the foreign aid package.
Last month, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed Israel aid legislation tied to funding cuts to the Internal Revenue Service — a nonstarter in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Dems remain reluctant to pass a standalone bill for Israel, said Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.).
“If we pass funding for Ukraine, we get over that hurdle, and then it means voting for a standalone for Israel, sure,” he told “Fox News Sunday.”
Republicans continued their criticism of the Biden administration’s response to the war on Hamas, which the U.S. and other countries consider to be a terrorist organization, over the weekend.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blasted Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for recent remarks saying further civilian casualties in Gaza will produce more insurgents.
“Strategic defeat would be inflaming the Palestinians? They’re already inflamed,” the senator fumed on CNN.
“Secretary Austin is telling Israel things that are impossible to achieve,” Graham added. “Secretary Austin, the reason Palestinians are dying: Gaza is so condensed, Hamas has tunnels under apartments, under schools, under hospitals.”