(JNS) Five Hamas leaders secretly planned the bloody invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, with 70 commandos from the terrorist group’s elite Nukhba Force leading the charge across the Gaza border, the London-based, pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported on Wednesday, Jan 10.
Citing Palestinian sources close to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s “military” wing, the newspaper disclosed that these 70 terrorists received training that focused on infiltrating Israeli communities close to the Gaza Strip. They pledged secrecy despite being unaware of any specific plans for an operation.
The tightly kept secret was intended to prevent leaks to Israeli intelligence services, which were caught by surprise by the attack and failed to respond quickly.
Five Hamas leaders planned the assault: Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’s leader in the Gaza Strip; Muhammed Deif, who heads Hamas’s “military” forces; Mohammed Sinwar, younger brother of Yahya Sinwar and commander of Hamas’s Khan Yunis Brigade; Rouhi Mushtaha, a Hamas leader close to Yahya Sinwar; and Ayman Nofal, a senior commander in the al-Qassam Brigades who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the first weeks of the war.
According to the sources, many Hamas brigade commanders did not know about the attack plans, while some were given limited instructions. Al-Qassam Brigades’ unit leaders were notified three days ahead of the preparations and the attack plan, without being told of the date.
The leader of the Gaza rocket unit, Ayman Siyam, was instructed to fire hundreds of rockets during the attack. Siyam was killed by an Israeli strike on a Hamas tunnel along with Ahmed Ghandour, the head of the Islamist group’s “military” wing in the northern Strip.
Saturday morning, Oct. 7, was chosen “based on reports of complete calm on the borders,” the sources said. The order to prepare for the mass invasion was given at midnight. Field commanders and elite forces began moving into their positions.
Hamas leaders were briefed hours before the attack, instructing them to go into hiding. Senior leaders, including Hamas’s top political leader Ismail Haniyeh and deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, who was killed in an airstrike in Beirut last week, knew about an impending attack but were given details only a few hours before.
Explosives placed strategically were set off at the Israel-Gaza barrier, allowing the terrorists to breach the border. Terrorists also used gliders and parachutes to position fighters around the northwestern Negev. They invaded under the cover of thousands of rockets fired into Israeli territory.
According to the sources, the primary plan involved capturing Israeli soldiers, but it turned into a more extensive attack after the soldiers were captured in the initial stages and there was no strong Israeli response.
An hour and a half after the initial breach of the barrier, remaining al-Qassam units were mobilized. Other terrorist factions were later informed and began participating. Around 3,000 terrorists in total participated in the attack.
