Reports from intelligence agencies or major international news organizations

Hamas Delayed October 7 Cross-Border Massacre to Gain Iran, Hezbollah Support, Documents Show

Oct 12, 2024, 03:46 PM

Hamas initially planned to carry out the October 7 attack, code-named 'the big project,' in the fall of 2022 but delayed it to persuade Iran and Hezbollah to participate, according to secret documents reviewed by the New York Times. The Times reviewed the minutes of 10 meetings among Hamas’s top leaders, revealing that the militant group avoided several escalations since 2021 to falsely imply it had been deterred while seeking Iranian support for a major attack. In July 2023, Hamas dispatched a top official to Lebanon, where he met with a senior Iranian commander and requested help with striking sensitive sites at the start of the assault. Recovered planning documents show that Yahya Sinwar's deputy briefed senior Iranian IRGC Commander Mohammed Said Izadi in Lebanon in August 2023, asking for assistance in striking sites. Iran had been informed about Hamas's plan to launch the October 7 cross-border attack on Israel at least since July 2023 and had even welcomed it, contradicting previous claims by Iranian authorities that Tehran was not aware of the plan. The documents also indicate that Hamas planned the wide scale massacre to take place in 2022 but postponed it.