Israeli forces ‘warned of Hamas attacks: female soldiers reported suspicious activity on Gaza border in weeks leading up to October 7 attack – but were threatened with court-martial’
Concerned soldiers who raised concerns about suspicious activity in the days leading to Hamas terror attacks on Israel were threatened with court-martial, it has emerged.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet have faced intense criticism from Israelis who accused them of being caught out by the raids that left more than 1,200 dead.
Another 239 people were taken hostage and while a handful have been released, dozens of worried families are still waiting for news of their loved ones.
Now Israel’s main news program on Channel 12 has aired claims from female soldiers that they were threatened with court-martial for raising concerns before the October 7 attack.
One said: ‘We have been told that if we continue to harass you on this issue you will face justice.’
Israeli soldiers remove the body of a fellow countryman killed during an attack by Hamas terrorists in Kfar Aza, October 10
Pictured, still from footage of fighters training ahead of the Hamas operation in Israel
A soldier covers his nose at the Kfar Aza kibbutz as he searches for victims after Hamas terrorists storm the border with Israel
The soldiers said they had raised concerns about suspicious activity on Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip for weeks in advance and had “raised red flags.”
Commanders were briefed on “training, deviations and preparations” near the border and the soldiers told Channel 12 they had seen “new people visiting farms around the border.”
One said: ‘More and more people who had never visited the area suddenly moved there, and farmers who did came suddenly stopped working in the fields and were replaced.’
The soldiers said this “set off alarm bells” for them, but when they expressed their concerns to the Israeli army’s commanding officers, they were brushed aside.
One reportedly said: ‘I don’t want to hear this nonsense anymore. If you interfere with these things again, you will be put on trial.”
Another would have snorted: “Hamas are just a bunch of punks, they don’t want to do anything.”
Other soldiers also claimed they had not received enough “psychological support” after losing comrades or family members in the October 7 massacres.
Gunshots and bloodstains are seen on a door and walls of a house where civilians were killed days earlier in a Hamas attack on this kibbutz near the Gaza border
Pictured: A resident stands next to a destroyed vehicle after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel
A burned down house after an attack by Palestinian terrorists on the kibbutz on October 10
A view of a house in ruins after an attack by Hamas militants on this kibbutz days earlier, when dozens of civilians were killed near the Gaza border
Israeli forces fire rockets into the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas attacks on October 7
Some said they were asked to return to work after two weeks and felt they were still not ready for duty.
An IDF spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘The IDF and its commanders are closely and sensitively accompanying all soldiers and service members who were present at the events of October 7.
‘The soldiers are guided by medical professionals from the mental health sector, in addition to the constant contact with their commanders who are an envelope and a listening ear.
‘Their return to duty will be guided gradually, sensitively and in accordance with the situation of each of them.
‘It is not the intention to take disciplinary action against them. If there have been conversations that indicate otherwise, they are contrary to the guidelines and will be handled accordingly.”
Meanwhile, another message on the Israeli online site Walla! claimed that a tank commander had reported soldiers to headquarters for ‘playing football and swimming in the sea’.
The report also claimed that motorists “driving to reach their goals first” in the Gaza Strip “ended up in a collision,” but fortunately no one was injured.
When asked about this, the IDF said: “The behavior and words of the rising soldiers are not in accordance with the orders and values that the IDF expects from soldiers in the performance of their duties.
‘Each case is dealt with on its own merits.’