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(A7) Rafael Hayun, resident of Netivot, who monitored Hamas radio networks and passed on life-saving information to Israel’s security forces for years, says in an interview with Arutz Sheva – Israel National News that if he had been allowed to continue listening to the enemy, he could have prevented the October 7th massacre. But, he says that six months before the massacre, his listening devices were taken away from him.
“This is knowledge that I acquired over many years,” says Hayun, and when we asked how he, as a civilian, had information that the military and intelligence did not have, he says that, “according to foreign publications, the IDF and the State of Israel did not listen to Hamas tactics, and according to foreign publications the Americans did not listen to them either, because they were sure that Israel was. So, in fact, the only one who had some access to this information was me, but during 2022, various authorities began to prohibit him from continuing his activities.
Hayun mentions Colonel G., head of the security information in the IDF, “who appealed to the Ministry of Communications to revoke his license. Hayun was called for a hearing on April 3, 2023, and “the Director General of the Ministry of Communications told me to close down my system and stop listening to the enemy. I did as I was told and in June they informed me that my license had been revoked. Two months later, on August 20, inspectors came to my home to make sure I had complied with orders.”
Hayun emphasizes that it was clear to all parties that he was only listening to Hamas. “They knew this very well because they are in groups, and they saw the recordings that I uploaded. Whoever read the information in real time saw that things were uploaded in real time, even when I was asleep. Fact. They know how many times I prevented terrorist attacks. How many attacks I prevented when others, such as the Shin Bet, took credit for them. I didn’t want credit,” he says.
Hayun recounts two cases of IDF forces that were rescued during an operational activity, thanks to his listening abilities: without disclosing any confidential data, Hayun tells how at the beginning of one of the escalations in the Gaza Strip, an armored force was operating near Shejaiya. “A Hamas sniper pointed a weapon at a soldier. He asked for permission to shoot. I heard it and relayed it in real time to the intelligence officer of that force. In the end there was no incident and it wasn’t reported in the media.”
In another incident, Hayun tells of an undercover activity when his listening devices revealed that Hamas suspected a certain vehicle in which the force was advancing. I relayed the information in real time to the force’s headquarters, that Hamas are suspecting a certain vehicle, and they reported it on their side. He gave an order, and the force evacuated the vehicle.
[קישורים:4:October 7th]Hayun says that on May 23rd he sent a message to the same senior official who ordered the cancellation of his listening license, after Hamas fired on Sderot and several residents were injured, “I wrote him a very poignant and direct message, saying ‘You should know that the victims’ blood is on your hands.’ He answered and warned me not to write to him again. I can testify to the number of times I sent the security forces in Sderot warning of shootings and I was always right.”
After all of this, we ask Hayun if he could speculate how and when he would have identified Hamas movement prior to the massacre. “I would have noticed it a few days before and I would have informed the forces. I’m not talking about the officials above, who decide whether to issue an order, because an order did not go down. I would have gone straight to the ground forces. I am sure of it.”
Hayun says that an examination of the radios the Nukhba terrorists and other terrorists had when they entered Israel on October 7th were all calibrated to frequencies that he had been listening to until his devices were taken and license revoked. “I had everything. I met a number of senior officers in different military units. We went over the frequencies. I had all these frequencies in my devices that were confiscated six months earlier. It hurts me to know that there was no frequency that I had missed. I had all the frequencies. I would have heard everything,” he says and also rejects the estimates that the leaders of the massacre communicated between themselves with written notes. “You see that these are the devices they communicated between themselves with; these are the devices they had on them.”
So we ask the inevitable question, can Hayun understand, after 11 months, what exactly happened here, how he was prevented from using his life-saving systems and how was his license revoked. “There’s not too much to understand. I’m a simple citizen who is living through this. I lost 37 friends that day and more friends later. What else could I have done that I didn’t do? I turned to everyone possible after my equipment was confiscated. I tried to put pressure on the minister from every possible direction. Thank God, in the end the minister realized how important this is and personally made sure that my equipment was returned. I thank him for that. There were others who helped, like Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, MK Eliyahu Revivo, Rabbi Pinchas Cohen, the Rabbi of Netivot, and Major General Israel Ziv.”
Today, Hayun has his equipment back and he is back to “doing good things for the system.” Everything is voluntary. “No one finances me, except for a few companies and good people, who help mainly with the equipment. They are trying as much as possible to help save lives.”
As for the theories on what happened before and on October 7th, Hayun refrains from giving a clear cut answer, “a lot of things that I know about don’t fit properly into the puzzle. I won’t say that it was something intentional or someone from the inside. I’ll just say that there are many things that I couldn’t fit properly in the huge puzzle of that day.”
Today, Hayun’s work is recognized by almost all relevant authorities. “Today I help everyone who needs it, and if needed, even the Prime Minister. All doors are open. There are still some restrictions on what I can do, but with God’s help this too will be resolved, and I will continue to do what I know how to do best.”
