Hamas considered 'cancelling 7 October' attack if Israel honoured agreements - Middle East Eye

Hamas’ plan for the 7 October 2023 attack reportedly included a clause allowing it to be cancelled if Israel honoured previous understandings with the Palestinian group, according to an Al Jazeera investigation.

The investigation, broadcast on Friday by the television programme The Hidden is Greater, revealed meeting records from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, in the months before the attack.

A meeting on 11 February 2023 discussed the operation, codenamed "Project Fahd". It stated that the plan would be abandoned “if the [Israeli] attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque and in the prisons ceased”.

Yahya Sinwar, Hamas’ leader in Gaza at the time, and Mohammed Deif, head of its armed wing, reportedly attended the meeting. Both were killed by Israeli forces in 2024.

The document said the decision to pursue the operation came amid what it described as Israeli violations.

“The brutality at Al-Aqsa has reached unacceptable levels, and the same applies to the treatment of prisoners,” it stated.

On the political front, it said there were “no signs of progress”, accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of having “backtracked on everything previously agreed”.

“The operational objective of the project is to defeat the enemy’s Gaza Division,” another clause stated. The division is responsible for Israeli military operations along the Gaza border.

The document also identified the capture of as many Israeli soldiers as possible as an objective.

Middle East Eye could not independently verify the contents of the document.

Around 1,200 Israelis were killed during the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel. A further 251 people were taken captive.

Israel responded by launching its genocidal war on Gaza, killing at least 73,000 Palestinians over two years.

A US-brokered ceasefire in 2025 was intended to end the genocide, ease Israel’s siege and facilitate the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

However, Israel has continued to violate the agreement, carrying out near-daily attacks and demolitions of homes, and expanding its occupation of territory in the strip, forcing the population into less than half of Gaza. At least 1,500 people have been killed since the ceasefire took effect.

Israel has also largely maintained sweeping restrictions on aid deliveries, keeping essential food, medicine and shelter supplies out of reach.

The Al Jazeera investigation also revealed rare, previously unseen footage, recordings and documents detailing Deif’s early life and clandestine leadership of Hamas’ armed wing.

The footage included Deif attending a meeting in a tunnel with the group’s military leadership, including several commanders who have since been killed.

Other footage showed him visiting a rocket-manufacturing facility and military operations rooms.

Before the 7 October attack, no publicly available images of Deif were known, and little was known about his health following seven Israeli assassination attempts over the years.

Deif led Hamas’ armed wing from 2002 until he died in an Israeli air strike in July 2024. During his tenure, he oversaw the transformation of the al-Qassam Brigades from a guerrilla force into a quasi-military organisation with an estimated 30,000 fighters.