The Washington Post reports that Israeli informant officers told a limited number of journalists this week that Hamas had spent more than a year planning its brutal attack on Israel, and explained how Hamas had "put Israel to sleep."
Documentation: Hamas terrorists in Sderot (archive)
For years, Hamas claimed to be more interested in building Gaza than renewing the conflict with Israel, and largely refrained from firing rockets at Israel after 2021. And last May, in tensions with Islamic Jihad, he was left on the sidelines.
"Hamas officials have even provided intelligence on Islamic Jihad to create the false impression that they are interested in cooperation," said a security official who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity.
Kibbutz Nahal Oz after the attack on Hamas terrorists on October 7, photo: Jonathan Zindel/Flash90
It was also noted that the terrorists who stormed into Israeli territory on October 7 carried battle plans with specific handwritten instructions, the source added. Plans that confirm what lone soldiers have warned for months, that terrorists don't just carry out exercises across the border.
The same official confirmed that IDF intelligence had gathered evidence of a large-scale Hamas offensive plan more than a year ago. In April, he said, the military issued an internal warning about terrorists infiltrating kibbutzim near the border, and in August indicated an imminent attack. "The IDF stepped up its alert and believed it had stopped it, now it understood that it was all part of the Hamas deception," he said.
A house damaged in a Hamas attack in Kibbutz Be'eri, photo: AFP
The American newspaper noted that "the attack shocked the Israelis, who for years had been assured by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF leaders that Hamas had been deterred," but there were warnings of a multi-directional attack by Hamas.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us