The existence of the document, which Israeli military intelligence codenamed “Jericho Walls,” was first reported in The New York Times in November 2023.
The 40-page plan, the Times reported at the time, laid out almost exactly how Hamas eventually wound up carrying out the attack: “The document called for a barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot — all of which happened on Oct. 7.”
Israeli intelligence officers reportedly determined that the terror group was incapable of carrying out an assault of such a large scope, or possibly unwilling, and dismissed concerns about it.
According to a Channel 12 report on Saturday night, the Arabic language document, which was written in October 2021, was obtained by the Military Intelligence Directorate’s Unit 8200 in April 2022 and translated. It was seen by IDF intelligence chief Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva, 8200 commander Brig. Gen. Yossi Sariel, Gaza Division commander Brig. Gen. Avi Rosenfeld, and then IDF Southern Command chief Maj. Gen. Eliezer Toledano, the report said.
It was not seen by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, deputy chief Maj. Gen. Amir Baram, Israel Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Tomer Bar, or senior IDF operations officers Maj. Gen. Oded Basiuk and Brig. Gen. Shlomi Binder. It was also not seen by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, or the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The document showed “Hamas was not deterred,” contradicting the prevailing IDF assessment, former IDF intelligence chief Aharon Ze’evi-Farkash told Channel 12. Therefore it should obviously have been followed up rather than dismissed. “It needed to be thoroughly checked.”
The TV report said that in the months preceding October 7, IAF chief Bar felt that the Air Force was not getting adequate intelligence on developments in Gaza and that meetings were held with Unit 8200 about this concern — the last one of which was held about a week before October 7. But even then, Bar was not told about the Hamas “Jericho Walls” battle plan document. READ MORE