Hamas carried how-to cheat sheets for Oct. 7 attack — and maps of military base that suggest help from spies: Israel
Hamas terrorists were given how-to cheat sheets for their Oct. 7 attack in Israel, including Arabic phrases translated into Hebrew for “I will kill you’’ — and excruciatingly detailed maps of a military base that suggested help from spies.
Documents seized from the terror group indicate the sneak assault had been in the making for years, Israel said Monday.
In the nearly two months since the war began, Israeli military officials have collected troves of documents from the terrorists in Gaza that revealed they carried a thorough map of an Israeli military base, as well as hostage-taking phrasebooks, into the surprise Oct. 7 attack, according to materials released by the Israel Defense Forces.
The documents and map of the military base were complex and included the location of Israeli troops, their weapons and roles at the site near the Gaza border fence.
The carefully hand-drawn map was far more detailed than what Israel thought Hamas was capable of producing and could only have been compiled through the use of “inside knowledge,” an Israeli intelligence source told the Guardian.
The base was not identified, but a rocket fired Oct. 7 likely by Hamas struck an Israeli military facility where dozens of the country’s nuclear-capable missiles are believed to be based, the New York Times said Monday. The missile did not strike any of Israel’s rockets, which were not armed with nukes at the time, but did cause a fire to spread near its storage facilities at the Sdot Micha base in central Israel.
The details and information on Israel’s military bases that Hamas had suggest the attack was being planned for years, with the phrasebooks highlighting the steps the terrorists took to kidnap the more than 240 hostages.
The Arabic-to-Hebrew phrasebooks included the lines, “Put your hands up and spread your legs,” as well as, “Take off your clothes” and “Where is your GPS chip?” It also included threats such as, “I will kill you.”
Along with the map and phrasebook, Hamas terrorists toted manuals on how to carry out the Oct. 7 attack, including one sheet that instructed them to “kill those who make trouble and those who try to escape.”
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Other documents and laptops seized from Hamas showed plans to attack several other military bases and key points in central Israel, alluding to the possibility that the terrorist group planned for Oct. 7 to be a much larger assault than just along the border cities.
The release of the documents cache comes just a week after the New York Times reported that Israeli officials were presented with a 40-page battle plan for Hamas’ invasion a year before it occurred — but chose to dismiss it because they believed it was much too complex for the terrorists to carry out.
Israel has said it is still investigating the events of Oct. 7, which could hold officials accountable for failures to prevent or mitigate the terrorist attack that claimed more than 1,200 lives. The government has said the probe won’t be delayed until after the war with Hamas concludes.
The IDF is also working on the investigation, with a probe being conducted over why troops were diverted from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank just two days before the attack.
The Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported Monday that 100 commandos were relocated Oct. 5 despite warnings of possible dangers coming from the border.
“Indeed, forces were relocated. And I’m saying this will be dealt with in an operational investigation,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “There will be a thorough investigation here.”
The scrutiny over Israel’s actions comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting pressure from the families of the hostages still held in Gaza.
During a war cabinet meeting Tuesday, Netanyahu told the families, “Currently, it’s not possible to bring them all back,” the Israeli outlet Haaretz reported.
“Can anyone imagine that if there was such a possibility, someone would have refused?” the prime minister added.
Danny Miran, the father of hostage Omri Miran, slammed the meeting as “a disgrace,” labeling it disorganized as the families waited two hours before they got a chance to air their grievances.
Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy said negotiators are continuing to press Hamas for the release of the estimated 137 hostages who remain captive in Gaza.
Both US and Israeli officials have suggested that one of the reasons for the collapse of last week’s brief cease-fire — which paved the way for dozens of hostages to be released — was because Hamas refused to free some of the 20 women still captive over fears that they would speak about what occurred to them while being held.
Hamas has faced multiple allegations that its men committed mass sexual violence Oct 7, which is being investigated by Israeli police and the United Nations.
As Israeli officials vowed to hold Hamas responsible for its crimes, the IDF has continued its advances in southern Gaza, with Tuesday’s fighting among the most fierce since the ground invasion began.
“We are in the most intense day since the beginning of the ground operation — in terms of terrorists killed, the number of firefights, and the use of firepower from the land and air,” Maj. Gen. Yaron Finkelman said in a statement.
The military has been spotted miles from central Khan Younis, the southern half’s largest hub to which hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled.
The IDF alleges that several Hamas senior members live in Khan Younis, with headquarters sites in the city.
Officials in the city’s Nasser Hospital said 30 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that hit a school building, ABC News reported.
