Israel
Hamas told Hezbollah minutes before launching October 7 terror attack on Israel, reports say
Yahya Sinwar also largely stopped communicating with officials in Qatar in the months leading up to the attack
December 29, 2023 11:55
Yahya Sinwar also largely stopped communicating with officials in Qatar in the months leading up to the attack
December 29, 2023 11:55Hamas alerted the leader of fellow terror group Hezbollah just minutes before launching its October 7 terror attack, according to reports.
Shortly after 7am, thousands of Hamas terrorists streamed out of Gaza into southern Israel, infiltrating over a dozen communities and towns and an outdoor music festival.
More than 1,200 Israelis were killed in the massacre and some 240 were taken hostage into Gaza.
According to a report in French newspaper Le Figaro, Saleh al-Arouri, a top Hamas official based in Lebanon, was told over the phone at around 6am to give Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah a heads up on what was about to happen at 06:30am.
A Lebanese source close to Hezbollah, who were planning a similar attack on Israel, said they were not pleased about being told at the last minute.
They added: “The cards they had been holding for a future attack against Israel had been shown by the Palestinians: penetrating inside Israel, airborne [assaults], the element of surprise.”
Hezbollah has supported many elements of Hamas’ attack on Israel and began firing at various locations in northern areas on October 8. Its attacks have been limited to anti-tank missile strikes, launching armed drones and sporadic rocket fire.
According to the source, Arouri also “oversold” Hamas’ leaders on the support they could expect from Hezbollah after Nasrallah refused to commit to a firm backing.
Arouri and Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh later went to Tehran and were allegedly told by Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that it would not be embarking on an “all-out war” against Israel.
According to the Le Figaro report, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar also hid his plans for the terror attack from many prominent figures from the terror group. These included Osama Hamdan, a Beirut-based official.
Meanwhile, in the months leading up to the attack, it was claimed Sinwar largely stopped communicating with Hamas officials in Qatar and elsewhere.
Former Hamas politburo head Khaled Meshal refused to say if the political leadership had known about the attack ahead of time.
Meshal appeared to indicate Hamas politburo was open to negotiating with Israel and Sinwar’s harder line placed him at odds with the rest of the terror group.
He said “a long-term truce with Israel is certainly negotiable” and recognition of Israel could be considered “when the time comes.”