Egypt warned Israel days before Hamas struck – US committee chairman

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Podcast there may have been an assumption by Israel that Hamas was not interested in a new conflict, so any information that contradicted that was discounted.

“It is my assumption – though I’m not on the inside – that there would be data breaking through that could have been interpreted differently and certainly would be with hindsight,” he said.

He added that complacency could have been compounded by an over-reliance on technological means to monitor Gaza, leading to a false sense of security.

On Wednesday, Mr Netanyahu described any suggestion that Israel had received a specific warning in advance of the deadly incursion as “totally fake news”.

More than 1,000 people have been killed by Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

Israel has been pounding Hamas targets in Gaza in response, while residents of the territory say they have no mains electricity after their only power station ran out of fuel.

In the wake of the Hamas attack, the US announced it was moving an aircraft carrier, ships and jets to the eastern Mediterranean, and that it would also give Israel additional equipment and ammunition.