WP: Hamas terrorists deliberately attacked Israel to spark a major war in the Middle East

Documents and plans found on the bodies of Hamas militants killed in the attack on Israel show that the attack on the border areas was part of a larger plan. The terrorist group planned to inflict much greater damage. Its main goal was to force Israel to invade the Gaza Strip (which it did) and provoke a large-scale conflict in the region, as well as to stop the process of establishing relations between Israel and Arab countries.

Source. The Washington Post writes about this with reference to a dozen and a half former and current intelligence and security officials from four Western and Middle Eastern countries. According to their data and analysts' estimates, Hamas leaders were prepared for the fact that the provoked entry of Israeli troops into Gaza could lead to significant civilian casualties.

"They were well aware of what would happen in Gaza after an attack on Israel," says a senior Israeli military official with access to confidential intelligence, including the results of interrogations of militants and intercepted communications. – "They wanted to buy themselves a place in history – in the history of jihad – at the cost of many lives in Gaza.

Hamas representatives do not hesitate to say this even in public. The attack on October 7 is only the first step, said Gazi Hamad, a member of Hamas's political bureau, in an interview with the Lebanese TV channel LCBI on October 24: "There will be a second, third and fourth. We are determined, and we have the capacity to fight. Will we pay a price for this? Yes, we will, and we are ready for it."

The militants were very well prepared. They had maps of the area made with the help of drones and even satellites, and they had thoroughly studied the settlements they wanted to attack (including through Israeli real estate sites and social media, which described life in kibbutzim) and military bases. Hamas representatives also received information from Gazans who were allowed by Israel to work on its territory.

The attackers had instructions to "kill and take hostages as many people as possible" and to set fire to houses to smoke the residents out of the shelters in which they were hiding. Having broken through the border in 30 places, they attacked 22 targets – villages, towns, military posts and bases.

But the militants also planned to move on. Some units had several days' worth of food and ammunition, as well as orders to move inside Israeli territory if the first attack was successful. In one direction, the militants advanced 25 kilometers to the town of Ofakim.

"They were planning a second phase of the attack, including major cities and military bases," a senior Israeli official confirmed.

"Hamas knew that Israel would retaliate with a powerful strike. This was the point," said Rita Katz, executive director of SITE Intelligence Group, which studies the ideology and online communications of extremist groups. "For Hamas, Palestinian suffering is the main way to cause instability and outrage in the world, which it wants to exploit.

Background. Earlier it became known that the war in the Gaza Strip jeopardized the peace summit on Ukraine. European politicians had hoped to convene another summit of world leaders by the end of the year, but now it is unlikely.