Israel already had the information about Hamas’ Oct 7 attack, according to a report by the NYTimes. The report was published on 30 November.
The unanticipated developments unfolded after a week-long ceasefire, suggesting that Israel had received detailed documents regarding the attack, more than a year before it happened. However, the Israeli officials disproved the documents as ‘aspirational’ and ‘arduous’ for Hamas to carry out.
According to the report, a 40-page long document called “Jericho Wall” gave point by point details about Hamas’ invasion that killed 1,200 people. However, there was no specific date mentioned in the document, the report stated.
Hamas followed ‘Jericho Wall’
The documents mentioned everything that would take place on October 7, the day of the attack. Including, Hamas would use drones to eliminate security cameras and maneuver automated machine guns along the border. While the gunmen would enter Israel in paragliders, motorbikes and on foot.
The documents also suggested that Hamas fighters would launch a barrage of rockets and drones to attack Israel.
Furthermore, it showed all the necessary information including the location and size of Israeli military, and other sensitive information. This raised doubts about how Hamas were able to gather the information. It was speculated that there were leaks inside the Israeli security establishment.
Warning 3 months ago
In July, this year, a veteran analyst with Israel’s signal intelligence agency with Unit 8200 had alarmed that Hamas had conducted an intense, day long training exercise that looked similar to what was outlined in the ‘Jericho Wall’ document.
However, a colonel based in the Gaza division disapproved her concerns and called the scenario imaginary, thinking that Hamas’ couldn’t execute it.
Meanwhile, Israel’s domestic security service chief, Ronen Bar held accountability for the intelligence failure that led to Hamas carrying out the attack on Israel.
He said, “Despite a series of actions we undertook, regrettably, we failed to provide a sufficient warning that would have allowed us to thwart the attack. As the head of the organization, the responsibility for this falls on me.”
