Israel-Hamas War news: Hamas planned extensive attacks on Israel for over a year, documents reveal: Report

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conflict in the Middle East, it said. The evidence includes drawings, maps, notes, and weapons collected from slain militants, it added.

Security officials alleged that Hamas militants were prepared to penetrate as far as the eastern border close to the West Bank in a series of attacks, as per the report. Also Read | ‘Whoever needs surgery dies:’ Al-Shifa director as clashes rage near Gaza hospital; lives of 45 newborns under threat Evidence gathered from the slain militants' belongings revealed notes with Quranic verses and orders instructing them to "Kill as many people and take as many hostages as possible", the report said.

It added that these militants breached the Israeli border in around 30 places, resulting in mass slaughter in at least 22 villages and prompting a day-long gun battle with the Israeli military. Preliminary intelligence findings also suggested that some militants had instructions to continue deeper into Israel, equipped with enough food and ammunition for the operation.

Track | Israel-Hamas War LIVE Updates: Attacks by Lebanon's Hezbollah group wound 7 Israeli troops The assault on October 7 was reportedly the outcome of meticulous planning spanning over a year, it added. It further said that Hamas militants underwent training using imported AK-47 rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, handguns, and other arms and equipment in the densely populated Gaza Strip.

For information, the evidence suggests that Hamas deployed drones to create detailed maps of Israeli towns, gathered information from day laborers entering Israel from Gaza, studied Israeli websites, and monitored real estate photographs and social media posts to understand the layout of cities. The plan was kept largely secret from