Did Hamas Plan to Attack Israel During Jewish Holidays?
(Baonghean.vn) - RT news agency quoted Israel's Channel 12 as saying that the attack, which was planned for April, was later canceled, and intelligence warnings about the incident were considered false alarms.
Last weekend, Israel's Channel 12 television channel quoted sources in the country's military intelligence as saying that Hamas forces in Gaza initially sought to carry out the attack during the Jewish holiday of Passover, which is on April 5 this year.
Soldiers from the 8200 signals intelligence unit told the channel that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had been aware of the attack plan and detected early signs of Hamas preparations. This data is said to have raised the IDF's alert level, causing Hamas to abandon the original plan.
The IDF ultimately deemed the intelligence warnings a false alarm, the source added. The sources said Hamas focused on internal security and kept most of its members in the dark about its plans, including the timing of a new offensive, scheduled for October 7.
According to Israeli media reports, monitoring units on the border with Gaza warned the IDF about “unusual” Hamas training exercises about three months before the October attack, but their concerns were reportedly dismissed as “delusional.”
On November 24, the Financial Times also reported that Israeli border guards had compiled a detailed dossier on the then-imminent Hamas offensive and presented it to the top intelligence officer of the Southern Command, weeks before the actual attack. According to the source, the document contained “detailed warnings,” specifically plans to breach the border at multiple points and seize local settlements.
When contacted by the Financial Times, the IDF neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the overlooked intelligence.
According to RT, the October 7 attack by Hamas killed around 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians. West Jerusalem responded with heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip, followed by a ground operation. According to officials in the Gaza region, the death toll on the Palestinian side has exceeded 14,800.