By Conrad Hoyt, Overnight News Editor. Media: Washingtonexaminer
Egypt warned Israel about an attack from Hamas three days before the weekend assault, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) said on Wednesday.
“We know that Egypt has warned the Israelis three days prior that an event like this could happen,” McCaul told reporters after a closed-door intelligence briefing focused on the war, according to the Guardian. “I don’t want to get too much into classified [details], but a warning was given. I think the question was at what level.”
The Texas Republican reportedly added that the attack may have been planned as far back as a year ago. “We’re not quite sure how we missed it. We’re not quite sure how Israel missed it.”

(AP Photo/Leo Correa)
McCaul’s statements appear to contradict Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s repeated claims that he was not told of Hamas’s plans before the attack, prompting further questions over who knew what and when.
An Egyptian intelligence official said his country had warned Israel that “something big” could happen, but both U.S. and Israeli officials have denied that any such warning occurred.
“We have warned them an explosion of the situation is coming, and very soon, and it would be big. But they underestimated such warnings,” the official from Egypt, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press.

(AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
Looming over the conundrum is whether Iran, a vocal enemy of Israel and supporter of Hamas, knew about and helped plan the attack. While U.S. officials have said Iran is “complicit” in the attack because of years of support for the Islamist militant organization, they have stopped short of saying Iran was “directly involved” in the weekend attack.
In addition to Israel, the plight of which has captured international attention, the countries bordering the Jewish state have also ignited questions and debate. To Israel’s south is Egypt, a country that has acted as a mediator between Israel and Hamas in the past. The North African and Middle Eastern nation has been wary of allowing any large-scale influx of Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip.
To the north lies Lebanon, a country in the throes of a historic economic crisis, where Islamist militant group Hezbollah resides. The United States and other Israeli allies have been concerned over what a large-scale attack from the organization could do, opening up another front in Israel’s battles as its enemies sense an opportunity.
Then there is Jordan, to Israel’s east, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to visit along with his trip to Israel. During Blinken’s trip, where he is expected to arrive early Thursday, he will “discuss measures to bolster Israel’s security and underscore the United States’ unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself,” according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. The U.S. has moved an aircraft strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to deter further conflict.

(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)
The war in Israel and Gaza has claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides, the Associated Press reported. The State Department has said that 22 Americans are among the dead, and “20 or more” U.S. citizens are also believed to be missing.
Israel was reportedly caught off guard on Saturday when Hamas launched a multipronged attack from Gaza. The country has said it will investigate the catastrophic intelligence failure.
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