Documents written by Hamas in the years leading up to the war, which have now come into the possession of the New York Times, reveal the extent of the terrorist organization’s ambition and malicious plans for the upcoming war with Israel. These documents also include plans that were never carried out.
Some of the documents deal with Hamas’ preparations for war with Israel, which they call “The Great Plan.” Contrary to previous beliefs, which suggested that Hamas planned this attack independently and deliberately kept its allies in the axis of evil in the dark to prevent leaks, the documents reveal that in the years leading up to October 7, 2023, Hamas sought to convince Iran and Hezbollah to join its campaign. In fact, Hamas postponed the execution of the attack plan from 2022 to late 2023 for this reason. It remains unclear whether Hamas shared the exact details of the plan with Iran or whether Iran committed to joining the attack. What is clear is that Iran’s responses were sufficient to convince Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar that he could proceed with the war. Additionally, the documents suggest that Ismail Haniyeh (the Hamas leader abroad, who was assassinated by Israel in Tehran in July) was at least generally aware of the plan, despite his claims of ignorance.
Other documents discuss additional Hamas plans, which were not implemented, aimed at causing the collapse of the State of Israel. These plans included raids on major Israeli cities and even an attempt to bring down the Azrieli Towers (located along the Ayalon Highway and near the Kirya military base), intending to paralyze Tel Aviv’s transportation, military, and economic systems. These plans included the killing of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians. The current war ensures that such plans can never be realized.
One of the main sections of the documents details Hamas’ deception plan toward Israel. It included several years of avoiding conflicts to create the impression that Hamas was interested in economic and political recovery in Gaza and did not seek escalation. This section should be widely distributed as a significant justification for our war against Hamas: there is no legitimacy for a regime that does not care for its citizens, even in the slightest, but is only focused on advancing goals aimed at the destruction of another state.
