Israeli authorities obtained Hamas battle plans detailing the terrorist group's October 7 attack a year before it took place. However, Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as "totally imaginative" and deemed it impossible to execute, as per a report.
In a 40-page document obtained by The New York Times, Hamas outlined a detailed plan for its assault on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people in a single day. The blueprint, as reported, did not specify a date for the attack but provided a comprehensive overview of the terrorist group's strategy. This included targeting fortifications around the Gaza Strip, storming key military bases, and assaulting division headquarters.
Israel Sat on Intel for a Year
Israeli officials reviewed the 40-page document just three months before the terror attack that resulted in the deaths of around 1,200 people in Israel and the kidnapping of another 240.
The document includes the statement "Surprise them through the gate. If you do, you will certainly prevail," which is a quote from the Quran that Hamas has widely repeated since the attack.
The plans included a barrage of rockets intended to force Israeli soldiers into bunkers, along with the use of drones to disable security cameras — tactics that were employed in the invasion on October 7.
The use of drones to disable security cameras and automated machine guns positioned along the border was also included in Hamas' longstanding plan.
The translated documents detailed 60 points in the border wall between Gaza and Israel where hundreds of Hamas fighters infiltrated for the attacks.
The plan also included details about the location and size of Israeli military forces, communication hubs, and other sensitive information.
Although officials did not disclose how they obtained the Jericho Wall document, records indicate it was widely circulated among Israeli military and intelligence leaders over the past year, most of whom dismissed the extensive plans as beyond Hamas' capabilities.
There are claims that officials acknowledged they could have thwarted or at least mitigated the October 7 attacks if they had heeded several urgent warnings from analysts.
Taking It Lightly
In July, a veteran analyst from Unit 8200, Israel's signals intelligence agency, warned about a training exercise conducted by the terrorist group resembling the content of Jericho Wall. This exercise included scenarios such as shooting down Israeli aircraft, taking over a military training base, and killing its cadets.
However, her concerns were dismissed by a colonel in the Gaza division, who considered it a "totally imaginative" scenario and advised her to "wait patiently."
"I utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary," the analyst wrote in encrypted email exchanges viewed by The Times.
"It is a plan designed to start a war," she added. "It's not just a raid on a village."
The analyst drew a comparison between the training exercises and the 1973 war, during which Syrian and Egyptian armies overran Israeli defenses before Israel regrouped and repelled the invasion.
The 1973 war is often cited as an intelligence failure that has been extensively studied by Israeli security officials.
"We already underwent a similar experience 50 years ago on the southern front in connection with a scenario that seemed imaginary, and history may repeat itself if we are not careful," the analyst wrote in the emails.
Hamas followed its master plan with alarming precision, directing gunmen to fly into Israel using paragliders. This unorthodox strategy was tragically employed at the Supernova music festival, resulting in at least 364 casualties.
Israeli intelligence officials have faced scrutiny in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, raising questions about their understanding of the impending assault.
However, the document suggests that Hamas had a more comprehensive understanding of Israel's apparatus than previously known, containing detailed information on the location and size of Israel's military forces and communication hubs.
Israeli authorities privately admit to a significant failure in preventing the deadly October 7 attack.
In September 2016, a confidential memo from the Israeli defense minister's office detailed Hamas' strengthening forces, substantial weapon acquisitions, and procurement of GPS jammers and drones.
The possibility of leaks within Israeli intelligence has been raised due to how Hamas obtained detailed information.
Despite the chilling details in the document widely circulated within Israeli military and intelligence circles, experts believed the attack was too ambitious for Hamas to accomplish.
It is unclear if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the document.
