Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has said it “failed in its mission” to prevent Hamas’ October 7 attack by ignoring repeated warning signs.

Israel's top security agency ignored signs Hamas would attack in October 2023 and was fooled into believing the militant group did not want all-out war, the agency reported in its own inquiry into one of Israel's most devastating security failures.

Israel's domestic security agency had Hamas' battle plans for the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks but didn't take them seriously. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deflected responsibility for the failure.

Just metres from the last houses in Bardala, a Palestinian village at the northern end of the occupied West Bank, Israel's army has been bulldozing a dirt road and ditch between the community and open grazing land on the hills behind it.