Israel facing security ‘earthquake’ and ‘battle for national survival,’ expert says
Global News
A former deputy national security advisor in Israel is calling the attack by Hamas this weekend an "earthquake" for the country and people's sense of security.
A former deputy national security advisor in Israel is calling the attack by Hamas this weekend an “earthquake” for the country and people’s sense of security, and says the conflict has become a “battle for national survival.”
Chuck Freilich made the comments in an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson on Sunday, a day after Hamas militants launched a slew of rockets into Israel’s south, as well as attacks by land and sea, in what is being seen as an unprecedented attack.
More than 600 in Israel have been killed, according to government numbers, with claims by Hamas of capturing military soldiers and reports of residents also being abducted.
“This is one of the worst developments in Israel’s history. It’s the first time since the War of Independence in 1948 that Israeli territory was occupied even briefly,” said Freilich, a professor of political science at Columbia University and previously a deputy national security adviser in Israel.
“This is an earthquake for Israel, militarily, psychologically, the sense of people’s security, and it’s, I believe, a total different change in the situation, which is going to require responses by Israel on a completely different level. We cannot accept this.”
In the wake of Saturday’s attacks, Hamas has claimed the number it has captured was “several times greater” than dozens and were spread throughout the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has confirmed a “substantial” number of people were abducted, suggesting in government statements that the number is more than 100.
An Egyptian official told the Associated Press that Israel has reached out to Cairo for help in ensuring the safety of those abducted, with Egypt’s intelligence chief having contacted both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad militant group for information.