US House Intelligence Committee chairman stresses selectivity in sharing information with Israel

By Melika Pala

US House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner underscored the cautious approach being taken by Washington in sharing intelligence amid efforts to assist Israel in locating the leadership of the Palestinian group Hamas.

The US is "being selective as to the information that's being provided" to Israel, particularly in tracking down Hamas leaders, Turner told CBS News' Face the Nation program on Sunday.

During his recent trip to the Middle East, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William Burns aimed to enhance collaboration between US and Israeli intelligence, Turner said.

"It's one thing to be able to look to try to identify a specific individual and provide information as to their location and operations and actually directing an operation," he said.

"Director Burns has been very clear that we are not just providing direct access to our intelligence. And that certainly gives us the ability to have caution."

Regarding the shortcomings of Israeli intelligence on the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, he said: "I think what you saw was just a general dismissal by Israel and Israel's intelligence community of the possibility of this level of a threat, which really goes to the complete breakdown that occurred here."

"This obviously could have been an institutional bias that resulted in dismissing it. But the other aspect that made this so dangerous is that even when Oct. 7 began to unfold, their forces didn't react. They didn't have the deployment ability to respond, not just the intelligence ability to prevent it."

The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip early Friday after declaring an end to a week-long humanitarian pause.

At least 509 Palestinians have been killed and 1,316 injured since Friday in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 15,523 since the start of the conflict on Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged Palestinian enclave announced Sunday.

The number of wounded through the same period has risen to 41,316.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.