Israel said to arrest Shin Bet source in Gaza as Hamas double agent who falsely reassured handlers on eve of Oct. 7

A source in Gaza for the Shin Bet was arrested during the ongoing war and brought to Israel for questioning, during which he admitted to being a double agent, Channel 12 news reports.

The source reportedly told Israeli interrogators that on the night of October 6-7, 2023, he received a phone call from his Shin Bet handler and falsely assured them: “There is no offensive deployment by Hamas. I know. I’m up to date.”

According to the Ynet news site, which does not report that he admitted to being a double agent, the Shin Bet asset is a mid-ranking Hamas official.

He reportedly had been expected to provide crucial intelligence at a time when many Hamas operatives were already aware of the planned assault.

The agent’s statements were interpreted as a sign that an attack was less likely, contributing to the broader Israeli intelligence failure by reinforcing the false belief that Hamas was not preparing for an attack.

Channel 12 reports that few such calls were made to field agents that night, underscoring what Israeli officials now describe as a significant intelligence blind spot, and the affair is being treated as highly consequential in ongoing internal reviews.