New Delhi: A small cell of Hamas planned the 7 October surprise attack on southern Israel for over two years and used a network of hardwired phones built within Gaza’s underground tunnels to communicate with each other, a report has said. These phones could not be tracked by Israeli or US intelligence, the CNN report said, citing intelligence shared by Israel with the United States.
Hamas operatives used the tunnel phones to communicate about the operation but stayed dark until it was time to activate and call on hundreds of fighters to launch the attack, which reportedly resulted in the deaths of more than 1,400 Israelis, said the report. During the rampage that day, Hamas operatives also took over 200 hostages – from infants to octogenarians.
The report added that Hamas operatives did not use computers or cell phones during this two-year period, to evade detection, and neither did they indulge in a lot of discussions “outside of the immediate area”. Instead, they meet n person in these tunnels to plan the attack.
Colloquially called the “Gaza metro” by Israel Defence Forces (IDF), this network of tunnels forms a vast web where Hamas operatives are known to store rockets and ammunition caches. They also use these tunnels to move about unnoticed, the IDF said, adding that the tunnels contain Hamas’s crucial command and control centres.
“The small cell waited until just before the attack was launched to prep a larger group of fighters above ground to carry out the specific operation,” CNN quoted sources briefed on the assault. “One of the sources said that though ground unit commanders and fighters were being trained for many months and kept at a state of general preparedness, they were only informed of the specific plans in the days leading up to the operation,” the report added.
The above-ground training was observed but did not ring major alarm bells, as Israelis thought it was routine.
CNN quoted another source saying that Iran “helped Hamas develop their operational security tactics over the years”.
However, US intelligence does not believe Iran played a direct role in the planning of the 7 October attack, at least for now.
The report revealed that Israel had been aware since the summer that Palestinian militants were using hardwired communication systems in the run-up to the October attack.
The Israeli military found a similar kind of communication system when it raided the city of Jenin in the northern West Bank in the summer, which was dubbed “Operation Home and Garden”. They discovered secure, hardwired communication lines and closed-circuit surveillance cameras that could give advance warning of Israeli troop movements.
At the time, the IDF said it hit a joint operational command centre used by militant cells in Jenin, and noted that it was used for “advanced observation and reconnaissance”. The IDF called it a “hub for coordination and communication among the terrorists”.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces continued with their relentless assault on the besieged Gaza enclave in retaliation for the 7 October attack. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, said 5,791 people have died in the strikes so far.
On Wednesday, international calls for a pause in fighting grew louder so that aid could reach Gaza.
Also read: Gaza conflict festers at UN: Palestine slams ‘bid to neutralise’ body, Israel wants Guterres out