'Shocking lack of understanding': Shin Bet chief unaware of Hamas's intentions, internal report reveals

(Oct. 18, 2026 / JNS)

Ronen Bar, ex-head of the Israeli Security Agency (Shin Bet), apparently had no idea what Hamas was planning or the true nature of its leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, just days before the massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, according to an internal agency report, Israel’s Channel 11 reported on Oct. 15.

The Shin Bet report, dated two days before the Oct. 7 attack, shows a “shocking lack of understanding” on the part of Bar regarding Hamas, said Ayala Hasson, an Israeli journalist who hosts a current affairs program, “Seven with Ayala Hasson,” on Channel 11.

Bar was wholly preoccupied with extending an informal ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group in the days leading up to the attack, according to the report.

“All his energy and attention were focused on a long-term ceasefire arrangement with Sinwar and Hamas. How could it be achieved? What did Sinwar want? What could be offered to him,” Hasson said.

The document’s report was titled: “Consultation regarding the management of negotiations for a long-term ceasefire with Hamas.”

Two days before the massacre, Bar was going “all-in” on a truce with Sinwar, the document shows. A discussion between Bar and his deputy summarized in the report focuses on Sinwar’s “interests, benefits and concessions, failing to grasp that the murderous Sinwar wanted something else entirely,” Hasson said.

“Not only did Ronen Bar fail to discern and understand what Sinwar was planning, but Sinwar managed to wrap him around his little finger and take him for a fool,” she said. “The role of the Shin Bet is to gather intelligence and thwart terrorism. It is fair to say that this was a disgraceful failure.”

The Channel 11 exposé came a day after Bar filed suit against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defamation, focusing particularly on a Sept. 28 post by Netanyahu on X accusing Bar of “failures and crimes.”

On Oct. 15, Netanyahu posted a link to Hasson’s report on his X account.