US officials told WSJ that shortly after October 7, 2023, a secret agreement was reached between the US and Israel to improve the intelligence network. During the same period, the US also increased its intelligence activities in Gaza.
Although officials have stated that the information shared under the secret agreement should be used in accordance with international law and in a manner that does not cause civilian casualties or damage to infrastructure, it is unclear how and for what purpose Israel is using the intelligence it receives from the United States. This raises concerns that the US is contributing to Israeli attacks on Gaza that have caused civilian casualties.
It is difficult to know how Israel uses the intelligence it receives
US officials argued that the main purpose of the intelligence was to rescue hostages held by Hamas and to prevent possible attacks on Israel.
Officials said that intelligence such as “raw” images taken from Gaza by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are shared with Israel, but it is difficult to predict how Israel uses this information after combining it with its own data.
Unprecedented coordination
Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said that in his 30 years in the Israeli army, the level of intelligence and military cooperation between Israel and the United States has never been higher.
“We have an unprecedented level of intelligence coordination,” Hagari said.
Jason Crow, a member of the US House of Representatives and the Intelligence Committee, stated that the intelligence shared with Israel is incompatible with US national values and security interests.
Crow said he had spoken separately with a senior Israeli military official and US intelligence officials and found “major discrepancies” in the two sides’ accounts of civilian casualties.
