Attack plans targeting schools have reportedly been found on the bodies of Hamas fighters killed in Israel.
NBC reports that the documents appear to be the orders for the attack of two elite Hamas units on the Israeli village of Kfar Sa’ad and surrounding villages. They contained detailed plans and targets, which included elementary schools and a youth center in the Israeli kibbutz of Kfar Sa’ad. They also had detailed maps showing their intention to attack at least four villages. The orders stated that the fighters were to “kill as many people as possible,” as well as seize hostages to quickly take them back over the border into the Gaza Strip. Many pages were labelled “Top Secret.”
Israeli authorities are still determining the death toll in Kfar Sa’ad.
One page of the attack plan stated that “Combat unit 1” is directed to “contain the new Da’at school,” while “Combat unit 2” is to “collect hostages,” “search the Bnei Akiva youth center” and “search the old Da’at school,” NBC reports.
Another page gave the details of a “Top Secret Maneuver” in which two Hamas units were to besiege the village from two different points, one from each side, with orders to “kill as many as possible” and “capture hostages.”
They also detailed the vehicles each group should use, NBC reports, and how to arrange the convoy:
“Group 1 assembly point: HAMZA transportation: one jeep and four motorbikes…
“Group 2 assembly point: ABDEL RAHMAN transportation: one jeep and four motorbikes.”
“Length of platoon train: approximately 125 meters.”
“Shape and length of each group on the motorbikes: 50 meters for each group.”
On the Hamas maps seen by NBC News, Kfar Sa’ad and three other villages that also border Gaza, Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz and Alumim, had blue circles around them. Kfar Aza also suffered severely in the attacks on Saturday, Oct. 7.
According to NBC, the documents were shared with its journalists by Israeli first responders who found them on the bodies of Hamas fighters.
NBC reports that the pages cited above are just a sampling of the many documents found on Hamas fighters, which Israeli security forces are now analyzing. Video footage of the attacks coincides with the plans outlined in the documents.
The Israeli officials also told NBC that some of the documents show that Hamas had been systematically gathering intelligence on each kibbutz bordering Gaza to plan each attack specifically, including targeting places where women and children would most likely be found.
“The dental office, the supermarket, the dining hall,” an Israel Defence Forces source told NBC. “The level of specificity would cause anyone in the intelligence field’s jaw to drop.”
While Hamas has claimed it did not kill children, both the documents and eyewitnesses tell a different story.
“I saw murdered babies. I saw murdered children. I saw mothers and children murdered together,” Yossi Landau, a commander of ZAKA, an Israeli first responder organization told NBC.
One IDF official said he was astounded by the degree of planning for an attack on civilians. “I’ve never seen this kind of detailed planning” for a mass terrorist attack, he said.
