Lt. Col. Eli Dekel, a former intelligence officer specializing in Egypt, claims that even in the early days following the outbreak of Operation Iron Swords, Egypt behaved as if it knew about the planned October 7 massacre and argues that Israel should examine this angle.
In an interview with the 'Ma'ariv' website, Dekel said: "From the second or third day of the Yom Kippur War, also known as 'Iron Swords,' Egypt held a parade of the 4th Armored Division, the flagship division of the Egyptian armored forces. During the president's speech at the end of the parade, he issued a threat reminiscent of President Biden's rhetoric, saying, 'Don't you dare come near Philadelphia.'"
He added: "For those who want to entertain a conspiratorial thought, and I usually don't personally lean towards conspiracy theories, all this armored parade, all this display of tanks, looks threatening and grand. And this speech, close to the events, raises the question – did the Egyptians know in advance about the timing of the war and stage all this parade and commotion to project a threat? This is of course a conspiratorial thought; apart from speculation, there is no solid evidence." Dekel noted: "From the beginning of the war, I wrote in my official publications that I believe Egyptian intelligence is deeply rooted in Gaza. Not only because of our problem but also because Gaza has produced Islamic militants who have severely impacted the Egyptian army since 2016. Gaza is the source of these attacks. Therefore, Egyptian intelligence has a clear interest in knowing what is happening in Gaza."
In conclusion, he said: "At the start of the war, I suggested in a recorded lecture that the Israeli government should thoroughly investigate Egypt's role in lulling Israel into a false sense of security, making us believe that Hamas was weak and deterred. The question is whether all our interactions with Egyptian intelligence were intentionally designed to lull us before the war. This, as I mentioned, is based on the assumption that they have more sources of information than the zero sources that the Shin Bet had, apart from phone interceptions. The Shin Bet stopped operating agents in Gaza."