Egypt warned Israel of Hamas attack days earlier, senior US politician says

A senior US politician said Israel had received an official warning from Egypt of a possible attack from Gaza three days before Hamas launched its deadly cross-border assault on Saturday.

Michael McCaul, the chair of the US House foreign affairs committee, speaking after an intelligence briefing to senior members of Congress, said it was not clear at what level the warning was given.

“We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” McCaul, a Republican, told reporters on Wednesday. “I don’t want to get too much into classified [details], but a warning was given. I think the question was at what level.”

Israel was caught off-guard by Saturday’s surprise attack, when more than 1,500 Hamas fighters breached the Gaza border fence in a number of locations, killing over 1,200 Israeli civilians at a music festival, kibbutzim and other sites near the border. It took several hours before Israel’s military was able to respond on the ground.