Israel Actually Knew About Hamas’ Oct. 7 Attack A Year Before, An Investigation Has Revealed
The New York Times reported that Israel had obtained a 40-page document that outlined Hamas’ battle plan with “shocking precision” but dismissed as being “too advanced” for the group.
An investigation has revealed Israel actually knew about Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack more than one year before it happened.
Hamas’ armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades enter the Israeli side of the fence in Gaza City, Gaza. (Photo by Hani Alshaer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The New York Times reported on Nov. 30 that Israel had obtained a 40-page document that outlined Hamas’ battle plan for Oct. 7.
People try to extinguish fire on cars following a rocket attack from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, southern Israel. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)
However, officials dismissed it as being “too advanced” for Hamas.
Palestinian fighters of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in a military parade to mark the anniversary of the 2014 war with Israel, near the border in the central Gaza Strip. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)
Although the report did not include a date, it described the steps Hamas would take on Oct. 7 with “shocking precision”.
A baby stroller, along with other personal belongings are left on the side of the road next to a car after multiple civilians were killed days earlier in an attack by Hamas militants near the border with Gaza. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
It included firing rockets to distract Israeli soldiers, using drones to knock out security cameras, and then for gunmen to break through the border and enter Israel en masse using paragliders, motorcycles and on foot – all of which happened on the day.
The document was widely circulated among the Israeli military and intelligence leaders but was labeled as being “aspirational” for Hamas, according to the investigation.
Naama Doplet (sitting) joined by family members and friends mourns the loss of her fiance, Israeli soldier Capt. Kafir Yitzhak Franco during his funeral in Jerusalem. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)
Then in July, three months before the attack, a veteran woman analyst warned Israeli officials that Hamas had conducted a military exercise that was similar to the plan in the document.
Gunshots and blood stains are seen on a door and walls of a house where civilians were killed days earlier in an attack by Hamas militants on this kibbutz near the border with Gaza.(Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
However, senior military leaders brushed off her concerns, saying that the exercise was part of a “totally imaginative” scenario and to wait patiently.
The mother (L), sister (R) and immediate family of Valentin (Eli) Ghnassia, 23, who was killed in a battle with Hamas militants at Kibbutz Be’eeri near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7 completely took Israel off guard and was the deadliest day in Israel’s history, resulting in about 1,200 Israelis being killed.
The immediate family of Yitzhak Seitan, 76, his wife, Hannah Seitan, 73, their son, Tal Seitan, 49, and his aunt Pesi Cohen, 68, grieve during the funeral at the Hod Ha’sharon cemetery in Hod HaSharon, Israel. (Photo by Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
