How it all went down in Israel on October 7

 . . ."Some of the dead terrorists carried maps along with provisions for several days.  Hamas apparently hoped to penetrate deeper into Israel, perhaps even to reach all the way to the West Bank." . . .

Joseph Puder - American Thinker

The Nukhba killers entered Israel with orders, as reported by Die Zeit: "Attack Kibbutz sa’ad (home of my cousin Aaron) and gain control, inflict as many casualties as possible; also, secure Road 232. Kill anyone who poses danger or distract your operation. Take soldiers and civilians prisoners and transport them to Gaza."

She posed a danger to the Hamas operation.

"It was still dark outside in the Gaza Strip in the early morning of October 7, 2023, when the Hamas terror group’s messengers were knocking on doors to wake up and alert the battalion commanders responsible for around 100 fighters under their command.  They then alerted the commanders of the smaller groups with the message to assemble at the assigned points along the 40-mile-long fence separating Gaza from Israel.

"In Israel, it was the Saturday of Simchat Torah, a joyous holiday that turned into one of the darkest days in Israel’s history.

"The above account was provided by the German newspaper Die Zeit and was derived from the interrogation of the captured and imprisoned Hamas Nukhba terrorists who murdered 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians, and kidnapped 250 others into Gaza as hostages.

"Incredibly, the Hamas leaders were able to keep their murderous operation secret until the last moment.  They refrained from using cell phones by assuming that the Israeli intelligence services might pick up their signals.  They passed on instructions by live messengers.

"At dawn, the approximately 3,000 Hamas (Nukhba) and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists assembled along the fence were told that this is no longer an exercise, but the day of action.  Hamas had been preparing for this day for at least ten years.

"The vaunted Israeli intelligence services were well aware that something unusual was going on in Gaza but attributed it to Hamas mounting another exercise.  There was no follow-up on these observations.  Complacency — viewing Hamas as being deterred and incapable of executing a major operation — allowed for complete laxity.

"As the sun was breaking out, weapons were distributed to the drug-induced (Captagon) Nukhba terrorists, which included assault rifles (Kalashnikovs), hand grenades, and rocket launchers.  Immediately thereafter, the Hamas and PIJ terrorists climbed in their Toyota pickup trucks and motorcycles.  Some were marching by foot, and others, trained by Iran and in Malaysia, mounted motorized paragliders to penetrate Israel by air, and others by sea with rubber dinghies." . . .