Explosive report claims Shin Bet ‘double agent’ helped Hamas deceive Israeli intelligence on Oct 6 before invasion

The Israeli intelligence community is reportedly investigating whether a Palestinian agent of the Shin Bet in Gaza was in fact a double agent, who helped Hamas conceal its intentions for the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks according to reports in Hebrew media. 

Several interrogations with senior Hamas officials were published this week. In those interrogations, it was revealed that some were actually double agents, feeding Israel information but often doing so in a way that served Hamas’ interests. 

A mid-level agent who worked with the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) in Gaza was captured during the war in Gaza and was questioned on the suspicion that he had provided misleading information to the intelligence organization.

After his apprehension in Gaza, he was taken to Israel for interrogation by military intelligence and Shin Bet. During his interrogation he admitted, “I was a double agent – I lied to the Shin Bet.” 

He admitted that he was contacted by the Shin Bet on the evening of Oct. 6, 2023, after the organization noticed some indications of an imminent Hamas operation. The Shin Bet wanted to know if he had any information regarding a planned attack on Israel. 

During his conversation with Shin Bet, the agent told them that "there are no offensive preparations by Hamas.” He also told them that an operative at his level would know about any preparations. 

The information he provided served as a "weakening signal" for an assessment on whether Hamas would attack. Reportedly, as a result of his statement, other agents in the Strip were not contacted in the final hours before the attack.

Because the agent was deemed credible by the organization, the preparedness for the Hamas attack was diminished. 

Because at that point, the Shin Bet had no understanding of the scale of the event, his testimony severely impacted Israel’s preparedness for the attacks. Therefore, the defense establishment attributes considerable weight to this conversation. 

The revelation comes after the release of reports by the IDF and the Shin Bet into the events leading up to and during the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas. One of those reports, by military intelligence, found that the intelligence community had become overly reliant on a system of electronic intelligence gathering tools, which had worked remarkably well in previous conflicts with the Hamas terror group. 

The success of the system was so profound, that former intelligence officials say other, more difficult aspects of intelligence, such as HUMINT (human intelligence) were neglected.

When evaluating the red flags coming in on the evening before the attacks, the lack of reliable human intelligence meant that Shin Bet apparently gave too much consideration to the statement of the double agent.

When paired with the lack of information about the attacks in the electronic intelligence system, his testimony seemed credible, the reports said.