PNN – The Guardian: Al-Aqsa storm operation was the most ambitious operation that Hamas had implemented during its control of Gaza since 2007; An operation that was secret until the moment of implementation.
The attack on Israel was planned by a handful of Hamas leaders. The important thing is that this plan was unknown to the people who carried it out until the morning of the attack.
In a report about the details of the Hamas attack on Israel, the Guardian wrote: On the morning of the attack, when the Gaza sky began to light up and people were dispersing, instructions were issued. Simple instructions that were mostly given verbally. Like “bring the weapons and ammunition you have and gather in certain places.” But no one had been told what was going to happen yet?
Al-Aqsa storm operation was the most ambitious operation that Hamas had carried out during the control period of Gaza since 2007; An operation that was secret until the moment of implementation.
The plan was drawn up by a handful of veteran Hamas leaders and was unknown even to the people who were implementing it. As this plan was not familiar to the Israeli army and intelligence services.
The decision to verbally deliver instructions to thousands of Hamas militants scattered among Gaza’s population of 2.3 million was the latest in a series of moves to deceive one of the strongest surveillance systems in the world. Commands were distributed in cascade. First to the commanders of “battalions” of a hundred or more people, then to the platoon leaders (groups of 20 or 30 people) and then to friends, neighbors and relatives who participated in the exercises twice a week in dozens of places in Gaza.
Finally, when the people were gathered, additional ammunition and more powerful weapons were distributed. Many of these people had used such weapons in the past months and returned them to Hamas arsenals after each lesson.
Start of operation
It was 6 am when the sun rose and the final orders were issued. At this stage, these people should have hurriedly attacked Israel through the gaps created by the explosion in the fences around Gaza.
The Guardian’s report on the initial moments of the October 7 attacks in Israel was compiled from multiple sources. Including Israeli intelligence officials, experts, sources with direct knowledge of interrogation reports of Hamas members who were arrested during these attacks.
One of the remarkable things about this attack is that so many people managed to get over the fence. Some sources say that 3,000 people, including members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, passed through this fence. These men formed a united but independent faction, which they had not been informed about before the attacks, but joined.
Israel believes that the main designers of the attack were two people: Yahya Sanwar, the head of Hamas in the encircled area, and Mohammad Zaif, the commander of the Hamas army.
It seems that during the attack four targets were intended, a military base, a kibbutz, a road or a city. The sources claim that the leaders’ orders were often accompanied by maps detailing key locations on the targets.
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This information was obtained from fans working in Israel. It is believed that the attack on the music festival, in which 260 people died, was not among the primary targets.
Objectives of the operation
Three tasks were given to different units. The first group was ordered to take control of undermanned and unprepared Israeli military bases around Gaza or attack homes. Some units were ordered to defend their positions against Israeli military forces by ambushing on key roads.
Sources have said that it was not a suicide mission as the death of the attackers was not integral to the operation. There was a third group that sought to capture the hostages and bring them to the cracks in the fence. where other groups were waiting to take the hostages into the vast tunnel complex under Gaza. That’s where the hostages seem to be being held now.
Israeli security officials believe that the details of the operation have not been disclosed to Hamas’ political leadership abroad, as well as to Hamas’ financial backers. Although the supporters probably knew an attack was being planned. “It was a very tight circle,” a source close to Hamas told Reuters last month. Hamas officials have said that the planning for this attack began 2 years ago after the Israeli police attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque.
“However, some Israeli sources say that the attack was planned for a shorter time frame – perhaps a year or 18 months – during which efforts were made to reinforce the belief among Israelis that Hamas was shifting its focus from attacking “Israel has switched to economic development in Gaza.”
Who were the leaders of the Hamas attack?
As the Guardian reported, the exact role of various Hamas leaders in the attack has not yet been determined. But it is clear that Sinwar and Zaif played a key role in its planning. Dhaif means “guest”. His name refers to the permanent displacement of this 58-year-old man. Relocating to avoid detection by Israel.
He is a former science student who joined Hamas in his early 20s. Zaif oversaw suicide bombings against Israelis in the early 1990s for a decade. It seems that Zaif may have been paralyzed in one of the Israeli assassination attempts. While his wife and family were killed in an air strike in 2014.
The second person is called Sinwar. A 61-year-old man who is one of the founding members of Hamas. He spent 23 years in Israeli prisons until he was released in 2011.
Sinwar’s interrogator said: “He is 100% committed and 100% violent.” Sinwar said after his release that his experience taught him that capturing Israeli soldiers was the only way to free prisoners.
Based on what analysts have said, other goals of the October 7 attacks by Hamas are likely to include halting efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, further weakening the Palestinian Authority, deflecting Hamas’ failure to deliver services or break the Gaza blockade, and provoking a violent response from Israel.
This will mobilize Hamas supporters in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere. Five days after the attack, a Hamas leader claimed that it was a preemptive strike.
An attack that was prepared after this organization was informed of the news of the Israeli forces’ attack on Gaza. According to him, the news indicated that Israeli forces were preparing a major attack on Gaza after the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Israeli officials have also said that the slow response of Israeli forces allowed some units to make multiple moves from Gaza into Israel to retrieve more hostages. According to Israeli and Hamas sources, after breaking the fence, some civilians who entered Israel were also captured, which complicates the current rescue efforts and negotiations.