Hamas planned Israel strike using hardwired phones built into tunnels underneath Gaza

Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7 was planned over two years through phone lines in tunnels under Gaza. A report by CNN quoted two sources familiar with the matter saying intelligence shared with the US suggested that a small cell of Hamas terrorists planning the deadly surprise attack on Israel communicated via a network of hardwired phones built into the network of tunnels underneath Gaza over a period of two years. These phone lines enabled terrorists to communicate with one another in secret and also ensured that they could not be tracked by Israeli intelligence officials. All through the planning, the small cell operating in the tunnels used the hardwired phone lines for frequent communication as well as planning the operation. It was all secret till earlier this month after which hundreds of Hamas terrorists were called to launch an attack on Israel, the report quoted sources as saying. How this small Hamas cell evaded detection? During the two-years of planning, these small cells of Hamas avoided using computers or cellular phones to evade detection by Israeli or US intelligence, CNN quoted sources as saying. “There wasn’t a lot of discussion and back and forth and coordination outside of the immediate area,” one of the sources said. Hamas used old-fashioned counterintelligence measures As per the intelligence shared with US officials by Israel also revealed Hamas’ kept its plan of the operation hidden. It mentioned that the Palestinian terrorist group used old-fashioned counterintelligence measures such as conducting planning meetings in person and staying off digital communications whose signals the Israelis can track in favor of the hardwired phones in the tunnels. On October 7, Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel and attacked largely civilian targets including families and a music festival, killing at least 1,400 people and taking more than 220 hostages. More than 5,700 Palestinians, also mostly civilians, have been killed across the Gaza Strip in retaliatory Israeli bombardments, the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry said. With inputs from agencies