According to CNN, citing sources familiar with the assessments, the Biden administration was informed that Hamas was prepared to increase rocket attacks along the border.
An update dated September 28, citing multiple intelligence sources, said Hamas was prepared to increase rocket attacks on Israel, while another from the CIA on October 5 generally warned that Hamas was "more likely to use violence".
On October 6, the day before the attack, US officials internally circulated reports pointing to "unusual activity" by Hamas and an "imminent attack".
The sources said, however, that none of the American assessments provided any tactical details or indications about Hamas' attacks on October 7, and that they did not know whether the United States shared with Israel most of the intelligence on which the assessments were based.
One person who received the briefings commented that Israel, Gaza and the West Bank were on the list of "hot spots" in the near-daily intelligence briefings provided to senior US officials, so the assessments may have been perceived as "mundane".
The report quoted a Middle Eastern ambassador in Washington, D.C., who told CNN that his government had repeatedly warned the White House and U.S. intelligence officials about the long-standing Hamas weapons buildup and explosive anger among Palestinians.
At the Atlantic Festival on September 29, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that challenges remain in the tensions between Israel and Palestine, "But the amount of time I spend on crisis and conflict in the Middle East today is significantly less than it was for my predecessors leading up to 9/11. The Middle East region is quieter today than it has been in two decades."
In the US, intelligence assessments are written by intelligence agencies to inform policymakers and inform decision-making.
