Hamas' surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 was a "big failure of intelligence" as the terrorist group had planned it out for about 17 years ago, a former newspaper political respondent and Israeli analyst has said.

Gil Hoffman, executive director of HonestReporting who also served as journalist for the The Jerusalem Post, said Israel was aware Hamas was building tunnels in the strip, but "they did not know" the extent of it, which eventually turned out to be 500-kilometer long.

"In Vietnam, they have tunnels. But not like this," he said on Sunday, Aug. 10, during a group of Filipino journalists' reporting tour here.

Hoffman said Israel might have known little about the tunnels, but they did not act on it.

The Oct. 7 attack that killed at least 1,200 people in Israel also came by surprise, said Hoffman. It was launched on Shabbat day, the holiest day for Jews reserved for connecting with families, communities and with God.

Several members of the military also came home to their families; and there were less guards at the border.

A 19-page report by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said there were gaps in its understanding of "Hamas' strategic goals, decision-making processes."

The report also said Hamas had begun planning for "a large-scale-attack" aimed at breaching the Gaza border as early as 2016.

But Hoffman believed that the attack, which led to a prolonged two-year war and the killings of many more both on the Israeli and Palestinian side, would make the Middle East "much safer."

Israel's retaliatory attacks on Hamas killed its top leaders and dismantled its networks and facilities.

Its attack on Iran, as it continued to support Hamas and other terror groups in attacking Israel, also brought destruction to its nuclear facilities, preventing them from succeeding in its threat to annihilate Israel.

"Iran has been hurt tremendously. They made the mistake by attacking us," he said.

"And now we're in a much better place with their nuclear program set back significantly withh so many of their scientists who could have brought their nuclear program back, now no longer on this earth," he added.