A lethal domino effect: the last-minute, covert Hamas attack directives

The most ambitious operation by Hamas since the radical Islamist group seized control of Gaza in 2007 was still under wraps: Operation al-Aqsa Flood.

The men whose violence was about to destroy any fleeting sense of calm or progress towards a new stability in the Middle East were unaware of the plan, which had been developed by a small group of seasoned, hardened Hamas leaders. Furthermore, the highly regarded Israeli military and intelligence agencies were unaware of it.

The latest in a string of actions intended to fool one of the world’s most powerful surveillance systems and conceal any information about impending events from a network of spies was the decision to orally direct thousands of Hamas militants dispersed throughout Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. The orders cascaded throughout Gaza, first reaching the commanders of the “battalions” consisting of a hundred or more, then platoon leaders of twenty or thirty, who in turn informed the squad commanders leading a dozen.

Weapons of greater power and more ammunition were not distributed until the men had gathered. Many had handled these weapons in earlier months, and after every instruction, they had been put back into Hamas’s arsenals. Before long, they were armed with explosives, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, and hand-and rocket-propelled grenades.

When the sun came up at six in the morning, the men were given their final orders, which were to attack Israeli soldiers and civilians on the other side of the $1 billion perimeter fence