Israel learned of Hamas’ attack plan over a year ago, records show

It has been revealed that Israeli officials knew about Hamas’ attack plan for more than a year before it happened, documents, emails, and interviews show, as reported by The New York Times.

Israeli military officials reportedly dismissed the terrorists’ attack plan as “aspirational” and considered it too difficult for the militant group to carry out.

An approximately 40-page document, code named “Jericho Wall” by Israeli authorities, outlined the invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people on October 7.

The document, reviewed by the Times, did not set a date for the attack, but it did describe an assault step by step to surround the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities, and storm key military bases.

The translated document detailed a rocket assault at the outset of the attack, drones to clear security cameras, and machine guns along the border - all shockingly followed with precision on October 7.

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Hamas gunmen were also told to flood Israel on paragliders, on motorcycles, and on foot, which all happened on the day of the attack.

It also included intel on the IDF’s location, force size, and communication hubs, leading to concerns about how Hamas gathered the information and whether there were leaks within Israel’s security.

According to documents and officials, the documents were read by several Israeli military and intelligence leaders who dismissed the credibility of the plan, the Times reported.

It is not clear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saw the document.

A military assessment reviewed by the Times read: “It is not yet possible to determine whether the plan has been fully accepted and how it will be manifested.”

Then in July, a veteran analyst with Israel’s signals intelligence agency warned that Hamas had conducted an intense day-long training exercise that was similar to what was outlined in the document, the Times reported.

But officials in Gaza dismissed the concerns, according to emails viewed by the Times.

The analyst wrote in one of the obtained emails: “I utterly refute that the scenario is imaginary. It is a plan designed to start a war. It’s not just a raid on a village.”

Officials said that if the Israeli military had taken these warnings seriously, they could have blunted attacks or possibly even prevented them.

Instead, Israel was unprepared for the October 7 attack and it became the deadliest day in Israel’s history.

Officials now consider it “the worst Israeli intelligence failure since the surprise attack that led to the Arab-Israeli war of 1973,” the Times wrote.

The Jericho Wall document reportedly begins with a quote from the Quran, reading: “Surprise them through the gate. If you do, you will certainly prevail.”

The same phrase has been used by Hamas militants in videos and statements since their attack in October.

Israel had also reportedly gotten hold of previous Hamas attack plans but never used them.

In September 2016, the defense minister’s office created a top-secret memo based on an earlier version of a Hamas attack plan.

The memo, viewed by the Times, said Hamas had bought sophisticated weapons and GPS drones and had increased its fighting force to 27,000 people. The memo said Hamas hoped to reach 40,000 by 2020.

Israel’s failure to prepare for Hamas’ attack echoed another analytical failure over two decades ago, when American authorities received reports that terrorist group al-Qaida was preparing for an assault.

A government commission concluded that the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001, were largely a failure of analysis, the Times reported.

Ted Singer, a former senior CIA official who worked in the Middle East, said: “The Israeli intelligence failure on October 7 is sounding more and more like our 9/11.

“The failure will be a gap in analysis to paint a convincing picture to military and political leadership that Hamas had the intention to launch the attack when it did.”

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