Months before the October 7 target on Israel, Hamas terrorists reportedly tried to persuade Iran to join in its attack.
According to newly released documents obtained by the New York Times, Hamas held at least ten private meetings with Palestinian politician Yahya Sinwar and his top commanders in which they planned the attack that killed more than 1,000 innocent people.
Thanks to at least 17,000 photographs of Israel that were taken from satellites and drones, the terrorist group’s initial plans were to attack Israeli military facilities, Ben Gurion International Airport, a 70-story skyscraper, and “the Azrieli Center complex, which comprises three skyscrapers, a large shopping mall, train station, and cinema.” The documents show that Hamas wanted to replicate a similar attack to the September 11, 2021 attacks.
Documents also revealed that talks of such attack date back to 2019. However, Hamas did not want to wait to attack Israel because the Jewish country was preparing new laser defense weapons.
Iran gave Hamas terrorists at least $10 million before the attack. However, Sinwar initiated a “vigorous appeal” and demanded $500 million more over two years and training for 12,000 terrorists.
Iran expert Farzin Nadimi suggested Iran’s goal was “To get to the core of the Israeli state and crush it.”
In the summer before October 2023, Sinwar’s deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, asked for Iran’s help with the attack on Israeli military sites within the “first hour.” The documents state that Iran supported the attack but needed time to “prepare the environment.” Ultimately, Iran did not participate in the attack on Israel that day, but it is unclear whether they provided any assistance to Hamas on Israel’s whereabouts or vulnerable sites.