GAZA
– On Wednesday, sources close to Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas,
revealed new details about Operation
Al-Aqsa Flood on
October 7, 2023, Al-Ghad
reported.
اضافة اعلان
The
sources told Asharq Al-Awsat, an Arab newspaper based in London, that the
operation began with only 70 fighters launching a surprise attack from several
areas along the border of Gaza. These are the first fighters who crossed the
Israel-Gaza border by detonating explosive devices specially prepared to create
holes in the thick wall. They also crossed the wall by using gliders and
parachutes that dropped fighters around Israeli sites. These fighters were
selected from various areas of
Gaza, among hundreds of members of the “elite
unit.” They received intensive training for years and were tested periodically
to determine their abilities and develop their combat skills.
According
to the sources, the plan to invade the settlements was not new but had been
considered and prepared for before the 2014 war. When that war broke out, Hamas
froze the plan.
As
soon as the Sword of Jerusalem Battle broke out in 2021, Al-Qassam Brigades
decided to prepare for and execute
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood when the circumstances were right.
Shortly
after, the brigades started training their soldiers for unknown reasons at the
time. Then, the most distinguished fighters were selected for
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood and took a special
oath in front of their leaders to not disclose any secrets about their training
or the operation’s plans.
The
sources confirmed that many of the leaders of the brigades were not aware of
any details or intentions for an imminent attack. Very few were informed of
limited information related to their tasks. This was part of a security plan
that was developed to prevent the leakage of any information that might reach
Israeli intelligence.
Planning and decision-making
were restricted to only five people: Yahya
Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, Mohammed Deif, the commander of Al-Qassam
Brigades, one of his most important assistants, Mohammed Sinwar, the deputy
Hamas leader, Rouhi Mushtaha, and Ayman Nofal, the former head of Al-Qassam
Brigades’ intelligence and commander of the Central Gaza Brigade. Nofal was
assassinated by Israel in October.
According
to the sources, the officials responsible for preparing Operation Al-Aqsa Flood later informed the leaders of Al-Qassam
Brigades’ units of the preparations that had been made and the attack plan, but
not its timing. They were notified three days before the operation, then met
with the leaders of the brigades’ regions and gave each leader specific tasks.
The brigades’ leaders, in turn, prepared their selected forces for the mission.
Ayman Siam, the head of Hamas's rocket firing array, received special
instructions to launch hundreds of rockets simultaneously with the start of the
attack. Siam was also killed by Israel during the current war.
The
sources explained how the date,
October 7, was chosen following field reports
from monitoring units confirming a complete calm on the borders. Then, on
Friday, the five officials decided that the best time was Saturday morning,
giving orders at midnight to begin the operation. Field leaders and fighters of
the elite forces began to move until dawn, then the operation began.
The
same sources said that Hamas leaders inside and outside Gaza including Ismail
Haniyeh and his deputy Saleh Al-Arouri, were briefed hours before the operation
and were asked to disappear completely per security measures taken in emergencies.
The
primary goal of the plan was to execute a “large-scale qualitative attack” and
capture a group of Israeli soldiers, but surprises occurred that made the
attack wider. The fighters were surprised by the weakness of Israel’s defense
lines, which led to the killing, injury, and capture of a large number of
soldiers immediately.
After
an hour and a half of the first attack, the rest of the members of the elite
unit were mobilized. Messages were sent to them to gather at different points
and move as support forces for the units inside the kibbutz. Later, the coordinator of Al-Qassam Brigades
informed the remaining armed wings of the possibility of participating in the
operation and assigned specific tasks to each faction. The attack expanded, and
hundreds of resistance fighters, citizens, and even journalists succeeded in
entering the Israeli settlements.
After
capturing dozens of Israelis, leaders of
Al-Qassam Brigades asked the
resistance fighters in the settlements to distract the Israeli forces as much
as possible to successfully collect and hide the abductees.
They
succeeded in transferring about 240 captives inside the Gaza Strip. About 136 of them remain after the
November prisoner exchange operations.
The
attack led to the killing of more than 1,200 Israelis. In contrast, Israel
reports killing at least 1,500 members of Hamas.
They
have additionally killed more than 23,000 civilians in Gaza in its ongoing
retaliatory war.
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