Israel failed to protect its citizens on Saturday morning when Hamas terrorists attacked, the IDF Chief of Staff said.

Herzi Halevi said: “We failed to maintain security around Gaza on Shabbat.”

The Israeli government and intelligence services have been criticised for not anticipating and thwarting the attack.

Egyptian intelligence was reportedly given to Israel last week which warned of Hamas’ terror plot.

Since the attack over the weekend more than 1,200 Israeli lives are thought to have been lost.

Children and babies are among those that have been massacred, with many bodies discovered bound and burned. 

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, said on Thursday that President Joe Biden was correct to call Hamas’ actions “sheer evil”. 

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