World News
A plan examined by The New York Times concerning a terrorist attack was dismissed by Israeli authorities as aspirational and overlooked particular cautions.
An Israel flag hangs in between damaged homes in the kibbutz Kfar Azza, Israel, near the Gaza Strip, Monday, Nov. 13, 2023. The kibbutz was assaulted throughout the Hamas cross-border attack on Oct. 7. Leo Correa/ AP
By Ronen Bergman and Adam Goldman, New York Times Service
upgraded on November 30, 2023
Reports reveal that Israeli authorities had knowledge of Hamas’ fight plan before the Oct. 7 terrorist attack. Consisting of documents, emails, and interviews, the file was considered too challenging for Hamas to execute according to Israeli authorities. The New York Times examined the file which described a systematic attack that eventually resulted in the death of approximately 1,200 individuals.
The document, code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlines a series of events that transpired during the devastating attack and included details of the strategy. The attack was planned to overwhelm strongholds in a particular region and launch a series of assaults on Israeli cities and military bases. Despite not setting a date, the attack described transpired in a similar manner as the documented plan, raising critical questions about Hamas’ gathered intelligence and whether there were leaks inside the Israeli security facility.
Despite a massive distribution among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, experts concluded that the ambition of the attack was beyond the capabilities of Hamas, according to documents and authorities. It is still unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other leading political figures saw the document.
Discussions from 2015 reveal that the documentation proved difficult to interpret, and whether Hamas had entirely accepted the plan was still uncertain. A month before the attack, a veteran analyst also warned about a significant training exercise, raising critical concerns. However, a colonel in the Gaza department dismissed these concerns despite the warning.
