Senate Intelligence Chair Mark Warner said there will be time to assess the intelligence failures that led to Hamas’ devastating terrorist attack on Israel — after Hamas is brought to heel.
The Virginia Democrat told reporters at the Capitol on Tuesday that he expects to receive a briefing about how Hamas was able to pull off such a brutal attack on Saturday morning in Israel. In the immediate term, though, Warner said he wants “our intelligence communities both focused on rooting out the Hamas leadership and bringing them to justice.”
“The facts are not going to change about how we got here. Let's let the IC in America and the Intelligence Community in Israel do their job. Which right now is seeking out the terrorists and destroying them,” Warner said.
Warner also said it’s not clear how much additional aid Israel will need because Israel is still defending itself and seeking to take down Hamas’ leadership. Hamas attacked the southern city of Ashkelon shortly before Warner spoke to reporters, demonstrating the war is far from over.
“How do you make that aid projection until we know when the conflict is going to end?” Warner said. “This is still a conflict that is playing out in real time.”