Recovered Hamas data shows attack was planned for years: Israel | Headline News

Digital equipment and documents recovered from Hamas militants after the Oct. 7 attack revealed years of planning and a very high level of “detail and preparation,” Israeli intelligence officials said.

Documents taken from dead or captured Palestinian gunmen show detailed plans for attacks aimed at inflicting a “shattering shock on people's spirits,” a police officer said. told reporters.

Data from cell phones, computers, tablets, GPS devices, GoPro cameras, maps and laptops “shows years of planning on how to attack the base and kibbutz,” said another anonymous intelligence official. He spoke on the condition that

On October 7, hundreds of Hamas and allied Gaza militants stormed into southern Israel, killing more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Ta.

In response, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas with relentless shelling and ground attacks, killing about 15,900 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip's Health Ministry.

To analyze this material, Israel reactivated a military intelligence unit called Amshat, which scrutinized numerous Arabic documents and decoded millions of electronic data.

One officer said that together they constitute a “battle plan.” “The level of detail and preparation is the biggest surprise.”

The Amshat force was created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, in which Israel was blindsided by attacks from Egypt and Syria, and has been reactivated several times since then.

The New York Times reported on December 1 that Israeli intelligence had obtained a Hamas plan more than a year ago detailing a step-by-step attack similar to the October 7 attack, but that it was “imaginary.” It was reported that the scenario was determined to be

~ Hostage Taking Manual ~
A detailed tactical plan was found on the computer, including the objective, the names of the units involved, the tasks assigned to each unit, exact operational details, timing, and a list of required weapons.

There was a detailed hand-drawn picture of the Hamas-occupied military outpost of Nahal Oz.

Satellite photographs and accurate plans of two of the attacked kibbutzim were found on the bodies of the dead fighters.

One intelligence officer said he believed the kibbutz details were obtained from within, either from Palestinian workers or Arab Israelis.

“I don't know about the base,” the officer said. “But you can't do that with open source.”

The media briefing also said that “part of the training was on how to take hostages” and that a “checklist” and “phrasebook” were discovered.

A checklist seen by AFP instructs the militants to cover the eyes and tie the hands of all adult hostages.

He added that hostage takers should “kill those who cause trouble or those who try to escape.”

The conversation guide shown to AFP includes about 50 phonetically transcribed Hebrew expressions, such as “shut up,” “don't move,” “raise your hands,” and “lie down.”

– 'Gold nugget' –
Surprisingly, some of the documents discovered were unrelated to the October 7 attacks, including some that appeared to have high military value.

“Some of the Hamas fighters were kept in the dark and didn't know what was going to happen,” said one police officer.

“Many of them were loaded with items unrelated to the attack, and some were vehicles that were used on a daily basis,” said another.

Among the mountains of information, one intelligence officer said, “Some is known, some is new…We have to find the gold nuggets.”

A detailed map of southern Gaza identifying previously unknown Hamas military facilities has been discovered, one officer said.

Journalists were also told that Amshat had obtained images of tunnels in Gaza, but it was not disclosed how they were obtained.

Images showed a long corridor reinforced with concrete and metal, wide and tall enough for vehicles to pass through.

One intelligence official said he would “not be surprised” if there were deep, tangled tunnels totaling more than 500 kilometers (300 miles).

“The whole Gaza Strip is a queue of tunnels…imagine how many hostages they can hold inside.”

Source: guardian.ng