In Israel, reports of the activation of Israeli SIM cell phone cards by Palestinian terrorists shortly before their massacre in Israel on October 7th are causing a stir. According to the Times of Israel, the Israeli military was forced to clarify in response to media reports that the secret service had indications that “some” Israeli SIM cards had been activated in Gaza. But these had also been used before without anything happening. Reports that 1,000 cards were activated simultaneously shortly before the attack are false.
The incident also left Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in need of explanation on Monday. Israeli media reported that it initially denied that Netanyahu knew about the terrorists switching to Israeli SIM cards. Then the head of government’s office made it clear that Netanyahu had no knowledge of the number of cards that were allegedly activated in the hundreds or thousands, as reports said. The Haaretz newspaper wrote that he found out details about a few cards after October 7th.
Terrorists from the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups carried out an unprecedented massacre in Israel on October 7th last year. They murdered more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others to the Gaza Strip. A big question to this day is how the secret service, military and political leadership could have been so surprised. Israeli Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi had announced a thorough investigation into the armed forces’ response to the unprecedented attack. There is massive criticism in Israel of Prime Minister Netanyahu, who has not yet taken direct responsibility for the political and military failure on October 7th.
