Journalist claims Hamas was on way to Tel Aviv, but was hit by surprise

Journalist and author, Ilan Kfir, describes the October 7th attack and reveals new information about Hamas’ plans in his new book.

Israel National News, Mar 24, 2024

Hamas terrorists on vehicle they stole from the IDFAtia Mohammed/Flash90

Journalist and author Ilan Kfir interviewed on Kan Reshet Bet about his new book on the October 7th massacre, claiming it could have been much worse – mainly because of the second phase of Yahya Sinwar’s malevolent plan that did not materialize.

“Today the picture is much clearer than what it was around October 7th. Hamas was not satisfied with the first phase of the plan, and the test was whether the plan would succeed and would go to the second phase – and he was ready with large forces on standby, ready to set off at noon,” Kfir says.

He notes that, “The peak of the plan was to breakthrough on two routes, north, as well as south and east, towards Dimona, which was marked as a very central target. The culmination of the attack was going to be a raid on Tel Aviv. They had marked several locations in the city that were expected to have large crowds in the afternoon and evening, and they were ready to carry out a major massacre there. Those who had planned to reach Tel Aviv and northwards were mainly forces who were ready to commit suicide, because they knew they had no chance of coming back from there. It was a plan that had been formulated and planned at very advanced stages.”

This was a plan that did not remain only on paper. “Towards noon on October 7th, when Sinwar and his command group realized that they had achieved more than planned, an order was given to the forces of Phase Two to set off. But at this stage they encountered a big surprise because, unlike in the morning – when everything was open and no one was ready – here full plans had already been put into action, large forces had already moved into the Nevatim region and a large blockade was set up.”

“There is no doubt that if Hamas had carried out Phase Two, the trauma and disaster would have doubled,” Kfir stresses. “Sinwar believed that if the news channels reported that he had attacked in Tel Aviv and Dimona, Hezbollah in the north and the other terrorist organizations in Judea and Samaria would also have attacked. It’s a demonic plan that, had it succeeded, the reality would have been many times worse.”

Kfir also shares that, “Maps found on terrorists indicated that they had intended to reach Kiryat Gat. They also found plans to attack the Shikma Prison in Ashkelon and release terrorists, and to attack the airport at Hazerim. This all showed Sinwar’s pompousness in doing something that had almost never been done before.”