Spy balloons that could have warned Israel’s military of Hamas’ ruthless October 7 attacks were ‘inoperable’ and had not been maintained, security sources claim
- Three of Israel’s seven ‘aerostats’ were inoperable, the Mail on Sunday learned
Spy balloons that could have warned of Hamas’s catastrophic attack on October 7 were out of action because they had not been upgraded or properly maintained, it was claimed last night.
Israeli security and industry sources have told the Mail on Sunday that three of the seven technology-laden ‘aerostats’ on the Gaza border were inoperable, leaving a dangerous gap in Israel’s intelligence defenses.
About 1,200 civilians were killed when Hamas broke through the border fence on October 7 and began a campaign of mass murder, taking about 240 hostages.
Some victims were burned alive in an atrocity that caused international disgust.
The white, helium-filled Skystar balloons, once a key part of Israel’s security operation over Gaza, are equipped with a load of cameras, sensors and spyware.
Spy balloons that could have warned of Hamas’s catastrophic October 7 attack were out of action because they had not been upgraded or properly maintained
About 1,200 civilians were killed when Hamas broke through the border fence on October 7
Personal belongings left behind by fleeing Israelis in the aftermath of an attack that killed more than 260 civilians during a music festival on October 7
Vehicles abandoned and set on fire after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7
But security and industry sources claim some of these stopped functioning at the time of the Hamas attack, and accused Israeli authorities of neglecting the balloons, some of which still operate on analogue signals.
The Mail on Sunday has been told that only two of the Israeli Defense Force’s 32 brigades were close to the Gaza border at the time of the attack, with suggestions that guarding settlers in the West Bank had been a priority in recent months. – and especially during the religious holiday weekend, one day after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
Security sources also confirmed that Hamas was able to take out watchtowers by using cheap drones to drop explosives on them – a tactic possibly learned from the war in Ukraine.
They say the aerostats have long been an important part of Israel’s early warning system and that if they had worked, the outcome might have been different.
They suggest that the outage was caused by a lack of investment by the government and that while the faulty aerostats, made by Israel-based RT Aerostats, which also operates in the US, continued to fly over the Gaza border, the technological equipment on board had stopped working.
Normally they would be operated by teams of two or three people on the ground.
The white, helium-filled Skystar balloons, once a key part of Israel’s security operation over Gaza, are equipped with a load of cameras, sensors and spyware
Only two of the Israeli Defense Force’s 32 brigades were close to the Gaza border at the time of the attack.
But it is clear that the faulty balloons were still operating on analog signals and had not been upgraded.
Last night an industry source with detailed knowledge of the balloons confirmed: ‘The payload in the aerostats was outdated. They haven’t spent any budget on upgrading or buying new loads or other loads.
“Unfortunately, I heard with my own ears senior officers saying that Gaza was fully protected with sensors and everything, and that the value of the aerostats was decreasing, so there was no need to invest in them.
“We all know now that that was a mistake.”
RT’s aerostats have reportedly been sold to security services around the world.
Last night, a spokesperson for the Israeli embassy made no comment.