The messages, posted on the "Military Tactics" Telegram channel—linked to Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades—contained explicit warnings of an imminent assault. Dahoah-Halevi emphasized that had Israeli intelligence properly monitored and analyzed these messages, the IDF might have been better prepared for the attack that followed.
At 00:20, one message stated, "The 5,12 people of the dawn are the people of Allah," alluding to the early morning prayers, a significant act in jihad. The time of these prayers was used as a marker for when an attack was expected. Other messages followed shortly after, escalating in their intensity and indicating a large-scale assault, according to channel 7 reports.
One message read, "We say to the Zionist enemy, no one has previously experienced the [operation] that will come to you," followed by a statement boasting of "many surprises." Another warned, "We swear by Allah, we will humiliate you and destroy you completely, and the next stage will be difficult for you and all the faint-hearted settlers." Additional posts continued to promise devastating action, describing a coordinated effort to target Israel from multiple arenas, with the Al-Qassam and Al-Quds Brigades leading the charge.
Just weeks prior, on September 17, the same Telegram channel had posted a chilling message: "Expect a big security incident that will come soon." A day later, the channel urged settlers in the Gaza envelope to evacuate, threatening violence and promising a devastating assault that would result in "what no eye has seen and no ear has heard."
The "Military Tactics" Telegram channel, managed by Hamam Al-Masri, an Al-Qassam Brigades operative, made these ominous warnings under his leadership. Al-Masri was reportedly killed on November 1, 2023, but not before playing a key role in the October 7 attack, including detonating explosives along the Gaza-Israel border weeks before the massacre.
These posts serve as a stark reminder of how early warning signs can be overlooked, and how crucial timely intelligence is in preventing devastating attacks. Had Israel intercepted and acted upon these Telegram messages, the tragic events of October 7 might have been averted.
0 Comments