The London-based Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reports, citing sources close to the leadership of Hamas' military-terrorist wing, that the plan to storm the surrounding communities was known to only 70 Nukhba terrorists, who had been trained for years without knowing why they were training.
After the massacre and fierce battles: Israel Hayom commentator Yoav Limor on a tour of the communities near the Gaza Strip
The terrorists, who carried out the surprise attack from several different areas along the border between Gaza and Israel, crossed it using IEDs prepared for them and adapted to weak points identified in the fence. The sources said that the terrorists used drones and parachutes, thereby toppling Israeli positions.
Fear of leaks to Israeli intelligence
The terrorists, who came out of elite units, were trained over the years, underwent special tests that determined their abilities and combat skills for the attack.
Hamas terrorist on 7 October, photo: uncredited
The sources added that the people who carried out the initial attack were selected from among hundreds of Nukhba unit operatives from various locations in the Gaza Strip. They swore to their leaders not to reveal secrets about their training. The sources also confirmed to the newspaper that many of the commanders of the military wing in the Gaza Strip were not aware of all the details.
In addition, the sources note that preparations for the attack began in 2014, even before Operation Protective Edge, but the plan was frozen. In 2021, it was decided to prepare for it again.
The Israeli flag is raised near a burnt house in Kibbutz Be'eri, photo: Micha Brickman
The decision not to involve many people in planning the attack, the sources said, was intended to prevent leaks that could have reached Israeli intelligence.
In the end, the decision to carry out the attack was made by five people: Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar and his brother, Muhammad Sinwar, military wing leader Mohammed Deif, Hamas political bureau member Rawhi Mushtaha, and military wing center brigade commander Ayman Nofal, who was killed in IDF strikes in October.
The sources added that those responsible for planning the attack later informed al-Qassam Brigades commanders of the equipment prepared and the plan for the attack, but not its timing.
Gazans carrying the body of a soldier. Photo of Abu Mustafa for Reuters, photo: Reuters
According to them, notice of the final preparations was received three days before the attack, when battalion commanders met with the commanders of the regional brigades. During meetings, each commander was assigned unique tasks for action.
The battalion commanders fulfilled their role in preparing their forces selected for the mission, while the commander of the rocket array and the brigade commander in the northern Gaza Strip, Ayman Siyam, who was also killed, received special instructions to prepare to launch hundreds of missiles at the same time as the beginning of the offensive.
Field reports of "complete quiet"
The sources further told the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that senior members of the terrorist organization, including the head of Hamas' political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, and his deputy, Saleh al-Arouri, were informed of the existence of an unusual attack plan, without giving precise details, and that they learned of its date several hours before it began.
One of the photos that appeared in the investigation into the October 7 massacre, photo: AP
According to the report, secrecy about the attack was extended to Hamas political elements. The sources who spoke to the newspaper said the group's leaders had been briefed hours before the attack and asked to "disappear completely, in accordance with security measures taken in times of emergency."
According to the officials, the date of October 7 was chosen following field reports by monitoring units, which confirmed that there was "complete quiet" on the border. On Friday, the five "secret partners" decided that the best time for the attack was Saturday morning, "an official holiday in Israel," as the report said. The commanders in the field and the Nukhba terrorists received instructions and began their movement until dawn.
A horror in one of the surrounding communities. The groups chose not to condemn, Photo: T.P.
The sources who spoke to the newspaper stressed that the main objective of the attack plan was to carry out a "large-scale and high-quality attack" and capture Israeli soldiers.
The plan was disrupted by what officials called "surprises on the ground" that made the offensive broader than planned. They also said that the terrorists who infiltrated Israel were surprised by the ease with which the lines of defense fell, leading to the murder, injury and capture of a large number of soldiers, as well as civilians.
The destruction in the village of Gaza. Hell on Earth, Photo: Yossi Zeliger
About an hour and a half after the initial attack, it was decided to recruit the other members of the elite units, who had been notified to gather at various points in order to organize support forces for terrorists already inside Israeli territory.
Subsequently, the coordinator of the military wing of the Al-Qassam Brigades announced the possibility of participating in the attack and assigned different and special missions to each battalion. The offensive expanded and hundreds of militants, civilians and even Gaza journalists managed to enter the surrounding communities.
Hamas, other Palestinian factions, groups and families managed to transfer 240 abductees into Gaza. About 136 of them still remain inside the Gaza Strip. The report noted that the IDF had located the bodies of a number of abductees and managed to transfer them to Israeli territory in ground operations that are still ongoing in the Gaza Strip.
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