Israeli officers obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist assault greater than a 12 months earlier than it occurred, paperwork, emails and interviews present. However Israeli navy and intelligence officers dismissed the plan as aspirational, contemplating it too troublesome for Hamas to hold out.
The roughly 40-page doc, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, level by level, precisely the type of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 individuals.
The translated doc, which was reviewed by The New York Instances, didn’t set a date for the assault, however described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications across the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key navy bases, together with a division headquarters.
Hamas adopted the blueprint with stunning precision. The doc referred to as for a barrage of rockets on the outset of the assault, drones to knock out the safety cameras and automatic machine weapons alongside the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on bikes and on foot — all of which occurred on Oct. 7.
The plan additionally included particulars in regards to the location and measurement of Israeli navy forces, communication hubs and different delicate data, elevating questions on how Hamas gathered its intelligence and whether there were leaks contained in the Israeli safety institution.
The doc circulated broadly amongst Israeli navy and intelligence leaders, however consultants decided that an assault of that scale and ambition was past Hamas’s capabilities, in response to paperwork and officers. It’s unclear whether or not Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or different prime political leaders noticed the doc, as properly.
