In a development that brings back to the forefront the issue of Israeli failures that preceded the October 7 attack, the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth revealed in a lengthy report that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has received detailed intelligence reports since 2018 warning of a large-scale attack plan that Hamas was preparing, years before the attack that occurred on October 7, 2023.
According to the report, intelligence documents, known as the “Jericho Wall,” revealed that between 2018 and 2022, Hamas developed a comprehensive operational plan for a coordinated, multi-front attack, targeting Israeli military bases and civilian residential areas around the Gaza Strip and southern Israel, with the possibility of the attack extending into Israeli territory.
The newspaper explained that Netanyahu had seen this intelligence information on more than one occasion during the years preceding the October 7 attack, despite his repeated public denials of his knowledge of the existence of such a document or its content. The report indicated that on April 16, 2018, the research unit of the Israeli Military Intelligence Division (“AMAN”) delivered a special document to high-level security and military bodies, including the Office of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, the National Security Council, the heads of the Shin Bet and the Mossad, in addition to the Office of the Chief of Staff and senior officers.
The subtitle of the document included a direct question: “Is the military wing of Hamas building its forces for a large-scale attack on our lands?” The document stated that the operations apparatus of the movement’s military wing had developed a plan for a large-scale pre-emptive attack, aiming to control military bases near Gaza and target civilian sites in the surrounding area, with indications of future ambitions to enhance offensive capabilities.
However, during investigations conducted by the Israeli State Comptroller, Netanyahu denied receiving any intelligence information indicating that Hamas was planning a large-scale attack before October 7. His office confirmed that the Prime Minister did not receive any briefing regarding the “Jericho Wall” document until after the outbreak of the war on Gaza.
However, the report revealed a clear contradiction in Netanyahu’s account, as official documents that he himself submitted to the State Comptroller’s Office last week showed that he acknowledged receiving the intelligence report issued in April 2018, but he selectively quoted from it a watered-down assessment that considered Hamas’ ability to carry out simultaneous attacks “unlikely at that time,” ignoring the concluding paragraph that clearly warned of the movement’s future offensive ambitions.
This revelation comes in the midst of an increasing internal debate within Israel about the political and security responsibilities for the failures that preceded the October 7 attack, and with mounting pressure on Netanyahu in the investigation and accountability files, whether with regard to intelligence warnings or the management of the war and its repercussions.
