Israel had a blueprint for the October 7 attacks a year ago. Officials rejected it.

Israeli officials obtained Hamas’ battle plan for the October 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it occurred, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials have dismissed the plan as ambitious, finding it too difficult for Hamas to implement.

The roughly 40-page document, codenamed “Jericho Wall” by Israeli authorities, outlined point by point exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people.

The translated document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, did not specify a date for the attack but described a methodical assault intended to overwhelm fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters.

Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision. The document called for a barrage of rockets at the start of the attack, drones to disable the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and armed men rushing into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot. happened on October 7.

The plan also included details on the location and size of Israeli forces, communications centers and other sensitive information, raising questions about how Hamas gathered its intelligence and whether there were leaks within Israel’s security establishment.

The document circulated widely among Israeli military and intelligence leaders, but experts determined that an attack of that scale and ambition was beyond Hamas’ capabilities, documents and officials said. It is unclear whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or other top political leaders have also seen the document.