Report: Hamas Deceived Israel by Giving Intel on Islamic Jihad Activities

By Yoni Weiss

The Hamas terror group had provided Israel with intelligence on fellow Gaza-based terror group Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the months leading up to the Oct. 7 massacre, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.

The Hamas seemingly passed on the information to Israel with the hopes of maintaining an Israeli belief that Hamas was interested in the Strip’s stability, rather than entering a conflict with Israel, the report noted, quoting an unnamed Israeli official.

As per the Israeli official, for years Hamas had attempted to strengthen the Israeli misconception of the terror group’s true intentions through attempts to focus on civilian issues, such as working with Israel to raise the number of work permits given to Gazans.

Before the terror attacks, Israel had issued close to 20,000 active work permits for Palestinians in Gaza.

In addition, Hamas sought to “lull Israel into complacency” by holding large demonstrations at the Gaza border in the months leading up to the attack, “to get the IDF used to the sight of crowds at the border,” the Post wrote, citing senior IDF intelligence officer Miri Eisin.

The report noted that Hamas made an effort to refrain from entering into a direct conflict with the IDF since Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, in preparation for its long-planned mass terror attack.

At the time, back in 2021, Hamas was criticized by fellow Palestinian factions for failing to join POIJ in firing rockets at Israel.