The head of the Israeli National Security Council (Tzachi Hanegbi) admitted his mistake when he said that the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip was “deterred,” stressing that his country “received a severe blow.”

Just six days before the surprise attack launched by Hamas and other Palestinian factions, Hanegbi said, “Hamas is very deterred, and is aware of the consequences of further challenge.”

But in a press conference on Saturday evening, Hanegbi said, “This is my mistake, and it reflects the error of all evaluation factors over many years, and more so in the recent period, when we believed that Hamas had learned the lesson of Guardian of the Walls (an operation launched by Israel on Gaza in May 2021). At that time, it received a decisive blow.

He added, "Hamas's deterrence was also evident in the three military operations carried out by the Israeli army against Islamic Jihad."

He continued, “In Operation Shield and Arrow (May 9-13, 2013), we dealt a decisive blow to Islamic Jihad, which appealed to Hamas to intervene to save it, but Hamas decided not to enter the battle.”

“This was one of the reasons that made the Israelis believe that Hamas was afraid of entering into a confrontation,” Hanegbi said.

He went on to stress, “The State of Israel was subjected to a severe blow last Saturday (October 7).”

Hanegbi denied reports that Egyptian officials had warned his country of an upcoming Hamas attack from Gaza, saying, “Personally, the answer is no.”

“I did not receive such a warning,” he added. Systematically, the Egyptians did not communicate with any of the people they communicate with, neither the prime minister nor those close to me and the head of the Mossad. It is fake news that not only we denied, but the Egyptians also denied.”

Regarding the issue of Israeli prisoners in the Gaza Strip, Hanegbi said, “We are all committed to their return, as is the entire government.” However, he denied that there were negotiations in this regard to date.

Hamas was able to capture an undeclared number of Israelis during its attack on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, with the start of Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” on October 7.

On Monday, Hamas announced that it would not negotiate a prisoner exchange under fire, according to a televised speech by the military spokesman for the “Al-Qassam Brigades,” the movement’s military wing.

For the eighth day in a row, the Gaza Strip (besieged since 2006) is subjected to intense Israeli air strikes that destroyed entire neighborhoods, as the Israeli army launched a military operation called “Iron Swords.”