A 2022 Hamas TV Show Displayed the Oct. 7 Massacre; Why Didn’t Anyone Pay Attention?

In 2022, Hamas TV produced a show whose plot described in chilling detail the approaching Hamas invasion, killings, and kidnappings in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Watching Hamas’ 2022 broadcast highlights a critical question haunting Israelis since October 7: How did Israeli intelligence overlook the clear warning signs of the attack, given that Hamas not only rehearsed the actions it later carried out, but openly described its plans on TV?

Worse yet, in a 2022 speech, then-Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar openly confirmed that the plot in the TV show reflected Hamas’ plans:

Sinwar: “This [TV] creation is not different in any way from our [Hamas’] very great imaginative powers ... from their intelligence, and from their various fields of activity.” [emphasis added]

There are varying explanations for why Hamas publicly revealed its attack plans a year before October 7.  Some think that Hamas wanted “to ridicule the occupation [i.e., Israel] afterward and prove its intelligence failure.“ Others say Sinwar took ideas from the show:

Sinwar liked the show’s script and its events, and he wanted to implement them in practice, which he was indeed able to do. [emphasis added]

[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 4, 2023]

In any case, the tragic fact remains that this show was broadcast in 2022, and Sinwar confirmed that it was accurate, and Israeli intelligence did not take it seriously.

The following is from the 2022 Hamas broadcast anticipating the actual Hamas terror attack on Oct. 7, 2023:

Transcript of portions of Hamas’ 2022 TV show:

Hamas terrorist: “Today we invaded them, and they did not invade us.” …

Hamas terrorist: “We will move towards the Kissufim [army] post [i.e., Israeli town], and the moment we take control of it, we will start to move towards the Re’im base.” …

“Israeli officer”: “They must not reach this base.”

“Israeli officer”: “The location was secured, and we still don’t know what their [Hamas’] target is.”

“Israeli officer” 1: “No matter what happens, they must not reach this structure under any circumstances. What is happening is either a large battle that will completely eliminate the State of Israel or a rehearsal. A rehearsal ahead of the liberation battle.” …

A scene in an “Israeli intelligence headquarters”:

“Israeli officer” 1: “There’s something strange. The cameras on the [Gaza] border … were hacked without us [Israel] noticing. The same images repeat themselves. It looks like something serious is happening.”

“Israeli officer” 2: “They shut down the activity of all the radar and disrupted the broadcast. We can’t see what is happening through the satellites. Patrols on the border reported to the army defense command about an infiltration of dozens of armed people.” …

Images of soldiers being taken captive are shown.

Hamas terrorist 1: “Isn’t this dangerous for the Jihad fighters?”

Hamas terrorist 2: “They’ll take control of the site and totally erase the secret database. They have taken a large group of [Israeli] captives.”

“Israeli official” 1: “The state [of Israel] is in a difficult period. We don’t comprehend the event we are in…”

“Israeli officer”: “Israel is turned upside down. I fear this is Armageddon. The entire world is turned upside down. They’re invading us.”

[Wattan, independent Palestinian news agency, Dec. 4, 2023]

Hamas terror leader Yahya Sinwar said this at a ceremony honoring the creators of the TV show in 2022:

Sinwar: “This TV show has a very great influence on our people’s struggle, its Jihad … This [TV] creation is not different in any way from our very great imaginative powers, from the activity of our brothers in [Hamas’] Martyr Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, from their [weapons] production workshops, from their intelligence, and from their various fields of activity … On behalf of the [Hamas] Movement leadership, and on behalf of our people and nation, [I express] our great thanks and our appreciation to you over this wonderful [TV] creation…”

Comments by Palestinian Wattan TV in 2023:

“The [2022] show includes scenes like what indeed happened in [Oct. 7] ‘the Al-Aqsa Flood'” …

“In the show, they took control of the [Israeli] Re’im [army] base and the Southern Command headquarters, which indeed happened in the [Oct. 7] operation.” …

“[In Hamas’ 2022 show] the [surveillance] disruption that took place on Oct. 7 was also seen.”

“There were also scenes similar to the [Oct. 7] real events, such as [Hamas fighters] going up on tanks and taking [Israeli] captives.” …

“At the end of the [2022 TV] show, the operation’s results were presented, such as mass [Israeli] emigration and American aid.”

Itamar Marcus is Founder and Director of Palestinian Media Watch, where a version of this article first appeared.

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