By COLlive reporter
In an audacious feat of strategy and bloody intentions, the Palestinian Islamist terror group Hamas took Israel by surprise by launching an unprecedented attack by air, land, and sea, catching the country off-guard on the holiday of Shmini Atzeres.
The large-scale attack, which Hamas called “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” opened at 6:30 AM on Shabbos Shmini Atzeres, 7 October 2023, at the conclusion of the Tishrei month of holidays for Jewish people.
It began with Hamas firing over 5,000 rockets from the Gaza Strip into Israel within a span of 20 minutes. Explosions were reported in areas surrounding the Strip and in cities in the Sharon Plain, including Gedera, Herzliya, Tel Aviv, and Ashkelon. They continued firing rockets later on.
Simultaneously, around 1,000 armed terrorists infiltrated Israel from Gaza using trucks, pickup trucks, motorcycles, bulldozers, speedboats and paragliders. They attacked, killed and injured Israeli civilians and soldiers.
One of the bloodiest sites was the outdoor Nova music festival near Re’im, where they conducted a massacre. Some 260 people were murdered, according to ZAKA. Those trying to flee were shot down as well. Many are still missing and in hiding.
Terrorists were also spotted at Nir Oz, Be’eri, and Netiv HaAsara, where they reportedly took hostages and set fire to homes, as well as in kibbutzim around the Gaza Strip.
Fighting was reported at Re’im military base. Hostages were also reported to have been taken in Ofakim, while homes in Sderot were set on fire. An amphibious landing occurred in Zikim.
Over 700 people have been killed in Israel. Israeli media keeps updating the lists of names and information of those pronounced dead and those still unaccounted for. IDF Spokesperson Brigadier General Daniel Hagari called it the worst massacre of innocent civilians in Israel’s history. “We paid a heavy price,” he said. “But we will restore security to the people of Israel.”
HOW IT WAS PLANNED
The attack, the most significant breach in Israel’s defenses since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago in 1973, was the culmination of two years of clandestine planning by Hamas, according to the Reuters news agency.
This covert operation involved shrouding military plans in secrecy and convincingly portraying a reluctance for confrontation to Israeli authorities, according to a source.
While Israel believed it was quelling a fatigued Hamas through economic incentives for Gazan workers, the group’s fighters were covertly undergoing rigorous training, often in plain view, according to a source close to Hamas.
This insider played a crucial role in providing intricate details for the account of the attack and its buildup, as assembled by Reuters. Additionally, three sources within Israel’s security establishment, who opted for anonymity, contributed to this narrative.
The source stated, “Hamas deliberately misled Israel, giving the impression that it was unprepared for a confrontation.” This strategy was described as an unprecedented intelligence maneuver designed to create a false public perception that Hamas was averse to engaging Israel, while covertly gearing up for this monumental operation.
VIDEO:
Wall Street Journal reporter Shayndi Raice describes the attack while sheltering in place in Tel Aviv.
UNNOTICED PREPARATION
As part of their preparations, Hamas constructed a mock Israeli settlement in Gaza for military training exercises, a revelation made by the source close to Hamas. Remarkably, many Hamas leaders remained unaware of the intricate plans, and even the 1,000 fighters deployed in the assault were kept in the dark about the precise purpose of their training.
On the day of the operation, it was divided into four distinct phases, as detailed by the Hamas source. The first phase involved a barrage of 3,000 rockets fired from Gaza, coinciding with incursions by fighters who glided over the border on hang gliders.
Once the glider-borne fighters were on the ground, they secured the area for an elite commando unit to storm the fortified electronic and cement wall dividing Gaza from the settlements, constructed by Israel to prevent infiltration.
Using explosives, the fighters breached the barriers and swiftly crossed over on motorbikes. Bulldozers widened the gaps, allowing more fighters to enter in four-wheel drives, as described by witnesses.
A commando unit targeted the Israeli army’s southern Gaza headquarters, disrupting communications and preventing personnel from contacting commanders or each other, according to the Hamas source.
The final phase involved relocating hostages to Gaza, a feat mostly accomplished early in the attack, as revealed by the source close to Hamas. One such widely publicized hostage-taking incident involved party-goers fleeing a music festival near the kibbutz of Re’im near Gaza. Social media footage captured dozens of people sprinting through fields and along a road, punctuated by gunshots.
“This is our 9/11,” declared Major Nir Dinar, spokesperson for the IDF. “They blindsided us. They moved swiftly from multiple directions – by air, land, and sea.”
Israel’s government declared a state of emergency. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel “is at war” in a national address following the beginning of the attacks.
What baffles me is how on earth Israel did not figure it! TWO WHOLE YEARS! IDF is slowing down
In God we trust!
אל תירא ישראל!!!
They use their intelligence agencies to spy on Jewish settlers.
Instead of taking in 20,000 gazan workers who drew detailed maps of settlements.
Instead of having quatar pay hamas millions
Hamas should have been dwelt with long ago
Finally israel stopped the electricity, water, food, and fuel, going into gaza
Now israel sees the iron dome, and walls around gaza, are not protection.
Hashem is who protects
Hashem protects but only when you do what He says. He says to herem the squatter nations of the land which means basically to do what Israel is doing now—hermetically sealing them off until they surrender or agree to leave and God promises that those who refuse either will all die out.
I find it hard to believe that this was planned for over 2 years. If you think for one second Israel is the only country monitoring Hamas and its surrounding countries your mistaken. The US EU and even Russia monitor these terrorists organizations. Your telling me for 2 years no one had any jint or idea I find that hard to believe.
Russia has its hands full in Ukraine and with its own internal corruption. The US is under the control of someone who can’t even find his way to the bathroom, and the EU is oblivious and apathetic to the needs of its own people let alone Israel.