Haaretz: Documents seized by the army from Gaza reveals discussions with Hezbollah and Iran regarding the October 7 attack

Israeli Haaretz newspaper published documents seized by soldiers from the Gaza Strip, shedding light on Hamas’ preparations ahead of the October 7 attack, which included discussions with Hezbollah and Iran.

Haaretz said that an analysis of the documents was published on the website of the Intelligence Heritage Center, an organization that works in coordination with the intelligence community and often helps publish material previously classified.

The documents, some of which were used in internal investigations by the Military Intelligence Service (Aman) and the General Security Service (Shin Bet) into the failures that allowed for the surprise attack on Israeli military bases and settlements surrounding Gaza, document the exchange of messages between Hamas’s leadership in the Gaza Strip and the organization’s leadership abroad, and sometimes with Hezbollah in Iran and Syria, in an attempt to coordinate the attack.

According to the analysis’s author, Uri Rost, the documents reveal that since 2021, senior Hamas leaders have accelerated contacts with Iran, requesting its assistance in financing an attack aimed at defeating Israel.

Rost’s report includes quotes from public statements and internal discussions about the implementation of the destruction plan.

In a speech delivered by Yahya Sinwar at a 2021 conference in Gaza on “Palestine after Liberation,” he expressed an appreciation that “victory is near… We already see liberation, so we are preparing for what comes after,” at the conference, ideas for controlling Israeli territory after its occupation were discussed.

For his part, Salah al Arouri, a senior Hamas leader abroad, said in interviews in August 2023, “An all-out war has become inevitable. We want it, the axis of resistance, the Palestinians, we all want it”.

After “Guardian of the Walls,” Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced a new equation: the response to attacks on al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem would not be limited to the Gaza Strip, but would be a “regional war for Jerusalem,” Two years later, Nasrallah claimed there was practical hope for liberating Palestine “from the sea to the river”.

He said that day that Israel’s home front was “weak, shaky, anxious, and always ready to pack and leave”.

These public statements, Rost writes, are strongly echoed in the captured documents, which indicate they were not just empty boasts.

He cites a letter from senior Hamas leaders in Gaza to Esmail Qaani, commander of the Quds Force, in June 2021.

The letter stated that the goal was a great victory and the removal of the cancer, as well as the elimination of the entity and its removal from our land and holy sites.

A request for $500 million in funding was submitted over two years to prepare for military operations.

In a letter also sent to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he wrote, “This imaginary entity (Israel) is weaker than people think… With your help, we are able to uproot and remove it”.

A month later, Sinwar wrote to Saeed Yazdi, head of the Quds Force’s Palestine Division, promising a “tremendous strategic victory that will have strategic implications for the future of the entire region”.

He asked Yazdi to assist Hamas in building an independent military capability for the organization in southern Lebanon.

A year later, coordination between Hamas leaders in Gaza and Qatar intensified.

Sinwar sent a letter to Ismail Haniyeh, who was in Doha, presenting a strategic scenario for destroying Israel.

Sinwar described three possible attack scenarios:

The first, and most preferred, is a joint attack by Hamas and Hezbollah, preferably during the Jewish holidays, because Israel is increasing its aggressions.

The second is an attack by Hamas, partially supported by Hezbollah, that will lay the foundation for the future destruction of Israel.

Third, Hamas will operate aggressively from Gaza and the West Bank, with support from militias in Jordan and Syria, without direct support from Hezbollah or Iran.

According to the documents, such a measure doesn’t require prior Iranian approval, but rather coordination with Hezbollah.

Yahya al Sinwar asked Haniyeh to visit Iran immediately and push for the establishment of a Hamas force in Lebanon.

On July 1, 2022, Haniyeh wrote to Sinwar that he had held a secret meeting with Nasrallah of Hezbollah and Yazdi of the Quds Force, and that the scenarios were presented.

Haniyeh wrote that Nasrallah supported the first scenario and indicated that he would discuss it with Khamenei.

Six months later, at a Hamas meeting in Doha, Haniyeh described the escalation in Israel with the formation of a right-wing government led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

He stated that the conflict with Israel was approaching a flashpoint, and pointed to the protests against the judicial revolution (which were still in their infancy in mid-January 2023) as a factor destabilizing Israel.

In mid-June 2023, a Hamas delegation headed by Haniyeh and al Arouri visited Iran and met with senior regime officials, led by Khamenei.

During the talks, Haniyeh confirmed that the movement was ready for a new campaign against Israel.

The Iranians indicated that they saw the possibility of wiping Israel off the map.

Haaretz reported that what happened next, unfortunately, is well known to every Israeli: Hamas ultimately decided to attack alone, without coordinating the timing with Iran and Hezbollah, and Nasrallah, after hesitating, finally ordered partial participation from Lebanon, allowing Israel to defend itself and then launch a counterattack.

However, Israel was completely surprised by the attack from Gaza, and the damage it caused was enormous.