As indicated by documents obtained by Israeli forces in Gaza, Hamas leaders had been strategizing a significantly more lethal series of terrorist attacks against Israel long before the assault on October 7, 2023. They included ambitious schemes, such as a potential September 11-style attack aimed at toppling skyscrapers in Tel Aviv, while seeking assistance from Iran to realize their goal of eradicating the Jewish state.
According to the Washington Post, citing Israeli officials, electronic records and documents retrieved from Hamas command centers reveal extensive preparations for various forms of attacks, including those utilizing trains, boats, and even horse-drawn fiery chariots. However, terrorism experts have noted that many of these plans were poorly conceived and impractical.
Perhaps the most impractical thing about those strategies was the fact that they envisioned a coordinated offensive involving allied terrorist groups launching simultaneous attacks on Israel from multiple directions: the north, south, and east. The Iranians and their puppet, Hassan Nasrallah, did not budge.
BREAKING: Washington Post obtained newly uncovered Hamas documents revealing 9/11-style attack on Israeli skyscrapers, railway bombings, and secret pleas to Iran for funds to destroy Israel.
Siding with Hamas after October 7th is no different from supporting Al-Qaeda after 9/11. pic.twitter.com/U0odMsH6R7
— Hen Mazzig (@HenMazzig) October 12, 2024
The collection of documents comprises an illustrated presentation with annotations that outline potential strategies for an attack, alongside correspondence from Hamas directed to Iran’s senior leadership in 2021. These letters solicit hundreds of millions of dollars in financial support and training for an additional 12,000 Hamas fighters.
It remains uncertain if Iran was aware of the planning document or if it replied to the correspondence; however, Israeli officials interpret these requests as a component of a broader initiative by Hamas to engage its Iranian partners in a direct conflict with Israel, a scenario that Tehran has historically aimed to evade.
The Post quoted an Israeli security official who said “Hamas is so determined to wipe Israel and the Jewish people off the map that it managed to drag Iran into direct conflict — under conditions that Iran wasn’t prepared for.”
In a letter Sinwar sent to Iranian officials in June 2021, he declared, “We promise you that we will not waste a minute or a penny unless it takes us toward achieving this sacred goal.”
In his extensive correspondence, 59 letters altogether, Sinwar fails to disclose specifics regarding his plans to annihilate Israel. Officials from Israel and other Middle Eastern nations assert that Tehran was taken aback by the assault on October 7 and expressed frustration towards Sinwar for concealing his intentions beforehand. However, they argue that both Iran and its Lebanese puppet Hezbollah were aware of Hamas’s preparations for a significant offensive. As one analyst told the Post, “It was their collective strategy to strike Israel.”
Iran allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas’s military faction and augmented its support throughout 2023.
When contacted by the Post regarding the authenticity of the captured documents, Iran’s mission to the United Nations said only that “We regard the Israeli regime as a mendacious criminal, anti-human entity and place no credence in their illusions. They have a long history of spreading falsehoods, fabricating already-counterfeit documents, and conducting deceptive psychological operations.”
Sinwar’s presentation’s preamble states, “We present to you this vision, which talks about the appropriate strategy for liberation in the near future, God willing.” The document, in Arabic, is entitled “Strategy to Develop an Effective Plan for the Liberation of Palestine,” and includes numerous maps, photographs, and diagrams illustrating the operations of Hamas fighters targeting Israeli positions, as well as a potential timeline for these attacks.
