Hamas sought to rip deeper into Israel, unleash mayhem of 'historic proportions' than what unfolded: Report

Hamas militant group sought to unleash a mayhem of 'historic proportions' than what actually transpired on the fateful day on October 7, as per a report by the Washington Post. The report is backed by circumstantial evidence and statements by multiple officials over the Hamas attack. The report cited few current and former intelligence and security officials from four Western and Middle Eastern countries.

It pointed out that the Hamas plot included an attack on the Jewish nation with an aim to flare up an expanded conflict in the West Asian region, while predicting that Israel would hit back in a full-throttled way.

The Islamist militant group, who led an onslaught on the southern region of Israel killing over a thousand Israelis, wanted to rip through the heart of Israel and vied to reach out straight up to the West Bank region, another Palestinian territory that has been trapped in violence for a long time.

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The militants who entered the kibbutz town of Berri, and carried out a surprise attack, had contentious material with them leading to these conclusions.

Among them, the report said, was a notebook with hand-scrawled Quranic verses.It also carried extreme directions for instance, “Kill as many people and take as many hostages as possible.”

Not just this, some of the Hamas militants were also laden with gas canisters, handcuffs, and thermobaric grenades. It is worth noting that the visuals after the Hamas war reportedly showed militants setting houses on fire mercilessly and butchering innocent civilians.

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The situation still remains grim as many officials who refrained from speaking earlier are now indicating that more intel is trickling in, solidifying what Hamas' plots and intentions were.

One stark finding in the report which quotes officials was that some of these Hamas militants were even carrying ample amounts of food, ammunition, and equipment that could last for several days.

Hamas planned to storm more Israeli territories

They had future plans in place in case the initial attack turned out to be a success, something which officials said was seen in the documents and maps.The militants sought to storm much greater Israeli territories targeting more cities. It also had instructions to torch homes.

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The report also suggested that the group stayed low-key to avoid raising any suspicions even though it had been planning for the attack for 16 years.

“If you’re in prison, you study the prison security system. That is what Hamas has been doing for 16 years,” Ali Soufan, a former FBI counterterrorism official said adding, “Their on-the-ground intelligence was way better than anything the Iranians could have given them.”

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.