FLASH
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Hamas militants may have planned their deadly attack in southern Israel more than a year in advance. So little suggests an 8-page file labeled Top Secret, which was reportedly found on the bodies of Hamas fighters in the battle zone.
The date "October 2022" is marked on the back cover of the secret document. This could mean that the plans were well prepared, at least 12 months before the attacks.
The documents, written in Arabic, were reportedly recovered by Israeli soldiers and emergency responders. They suggest that Hamas militants planned to target the civilian population and take hostages.
Sky News showed the documents to Hamas experts, who said that while they are difficult to confirm with 100% confidence, they are likely to be genuine. Four pages were posted publicly on a Telegram channel run by 'South First Responders' - a volunteer group - helping to recover bodies.
A further four pages were subsequently shared with Sky News - and all spoke of an apparent military plan to target Mefalsim, a kibbutz near Gaza. The plan, however, was unsuccessful with the militants said to have been pushed back by local security and it is believed that no one inside the kibbutz was killed.
The suggestion that Hamas plans may have been at an advanced stage in October last year has been described as a "very serious" failure by Israeli intelligence.
One of the secret documents is titled "Mission Kibbutz Mefalsim" and describes the structure of the team sent as consisting of "a commander and two five-man squads." It also suggests that this is the "A phase" of the attack. Another document describes plans to "take soldiers and civilians as prisoners and take and negotiate hostages."
While one team was assigned to blow holes in the fences, others were assigned to provide artillery fire. The document states: "The first group opens a gap in the wire fence and attacks the kibbutz from the south."
Another section shows what equipment would be needed to cut the wires and information on how long it would take the militants to force their way through. An example is the estimate that "third generation wires" would take "40 seconds" to snap.
Some pages also detail predictions of how long it would take for Israeli reinforcements to arrive, with warnings that troops stationed nearby could arrive at the kibbutz "within 3-5 minutes".
Hamas documents have been seized by Israeli forces following previous confrontations, including in 2014. Some have questioned why the documents display dates in the Gregorian calendar format rather than the Islamic calendar, given that Hamas is an Islamic organization.
However, experts Sky News spoke to noted that this is not entirely unusual, with one noting that it has been noted in documents released by other Islamist organisations.
The first page of the document also shows the emblem used by Hamas' armed wing - the al Qassam Brigades. The image is the same one displayed in other Hamas documents and on its public Telegram channel.
The group 'South First Responders' first started posting videos and photos collected on Sunday 8 October. Their first posts were from the Supernova festival site in Re'im and then from various settlements. One image is of a map detailing the route Hamas would take near the settlements of Kisufin and Ein HaShlosha. More than 1,300 Israelis were killed in the attacks in southern Israel and led to the declaration of war on Hamas. /Adapted 'Pamphlet' from 'SkyNews'
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