Israeli Intelligence

Intelligence has traditionally been a core foundation of Israeli security doctrine, influencing strategic decision-making and threat perception, and serving as the core enabler of operations. This chapter describes the unique culture, organization, and products of this system. It also describes the changes to many of these aspects, following the Israeli intelligence failure to anticipate and prevent the Hamas surprise attack in October 2023, and given the consequences of the regional war that commenced in 2025. Although October 2023 has not brought about foundational changes in the organization of the Israeli intelligence system, the traditional influence of military intelligence on strategic decisions may be eroding. Israel now acknowledges the limitations of deterrence and strategic early warning, and its realized strategy as of 2025 focuses on prevention and compellence. Israel’s threat perception is still focused on Iran and its proxies, reflecting a strategic culture of exceptionalism and an existential mindset. Close integration of intelligence with operations still underpins Israeli operations across the Middle East, including in Iran. As of 2025, the Israeli intelligence system is trying to regain some of the norms and values that traditionally underpinned its culture, mainly contrarian thinking and moral courage. At the same time, this system is increasingly exposed to politicization attempts.