Netanyahu predicted a Hamas attack six years ago
The attack mentioned by Netanyahu in the Knesset aims to occupy settlements, launch a large number of rockets, and infiltrate thousands of Hamas members, which indeed occurred on October 7
The Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot revealed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu foresaw in 2017 an attack similar to what happened on October 7. This information raises questions about the state of relaxation and leniency of the Israeli army in the face of the unprecedented situation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The newspaper confirmed that Netanyahu informed a committee of the Israeli parliament (the Knesset) in 2017 about a plan by Hamas involving a surprise attack targeting Gaza envelope settlements. However, no measures were taken to thwart it. The attack aims to occupy settlements, launch a large number of rockets, and infiltrate thousands of movement members, either through tunnels or paragliders, as happened on October 7 last year.
The newspaper explained that Netanyahu stated on April 19, 2017, during a meeting to benefit from the war on Gaza in 2014, “Operation Protective Edge,” that Hamas planned a missile attack, paragliders, and assassination operations in settlements, in addition to kidnapping cases for the purpose of holding exchange deals. Netanyahu presented the plan to the Knesset, and the newspaper likened it to the extensive operation carried out by Hamas on October 7 last year.
This is not the first time that Israeli sources have spoken about the revelation of Hamas‘s plan for a surprise attack. The New York Times reported this month, based on secret documents, that Israeli officials obtained a plan by Hamas over a year ago aiming to carry out an unprecedented attack against Israel, but they considered this scenario unrealistic.
The American newspaper reported that Israeli military intelligence obtained a 40-page document from Hamas titled “Jericho Wall,” detailing a wide-ranging attack involving a barrage of missiles, drones destroying security cameras and automated defense systems, followed by the crossing of fighters to the Israeli side using parachutes, vehicles, and on foot—the elements that were part of the October 7 attack.
In July, an analyst from the elite Unit 8200 intelligence warned that military exercises conducted by Hamas resembled, in several aspects, the plan of the attack mentioned in the “Jericho Wall” document. However, a colonel in the military unit responsible for Gaza dismissed this scenario, describing it as “completely imaginary.”
These revelations increase pressure on Netanyahu‘s government and the army leadership for failing to take the necessary measures to thwart a Hamas attack, not to mention the failure to prevent the funding of the attack, even though sources confirmed that the Israeli government was aware of the methods used by the Palestinian movement to fund its activities from abroad. Israel is trying to cover up its failure to repel Hamas and Palestinian factions’ attacks by launching a destructive war that caused more than 20,000 civilian casualties.
