Image Credentials: Image Title: Netanyahu Presented with Hamas Invasion Plans as Early as 2018, Israeli Reports Reveal. Source: (sora.openai) Date: February 2026. Attribution: This image was created using AI-generated imagery (sora.openai) and does not depict a real-world scene.
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By Open Chronicle Staff with Agencies
JERUSALEM — Explosive new details have emerged regarding the intelligence failures preceding the October 7, 2023, attacks, with reports now alleging that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was briefed on Hamas’s blueprints for a large-scale invasion as far back as 2018.
According to documents and testimony published this week by the Israeli news outlet Ynet and echoed in international reports, Israeli military intelligence (IDF) had identified a comprehensive operational plan developed by Hamas between 2018 and 2022. This plan, later dubbed the “Jericho’s Walls” document, outlined the exact tactics used years later: breaching the Gaza border at multiple points and deploying thousands of militants to seize military bases and civilian communities.
The revelation directly contradicts the Prime Minister’s long-standing public assertions that he had never seen or been briefed on such a specific and sophisticated threat before the war broke out.
“Low Probability” and Political Inertia
The 2018 intelligence reports reportedly emphasized that the scope and complexity of the Hamas plan were “exceptional.” Despite these warnings, senior intelligence brass at the time assessed the plan as aspirational rather than operational.
Critics argue that the political leadership, led by Netanyahu, accepted this “low probability” assessment without further inquiry, using it to justify a policy of containment. This strategy, often referred to as the “Conception”, focused on maintaining a fragile calm by allowing Qatari funds into Gaza and granting work permits, under the assumption that Hamas was deterred and more interested in governing than in a catastrophic war.
“Any serious leader would have looked at that 2018 plan and demanded to know how we were preparing for its eventual execution,” a senior official told reporters. “Instead, it was filed away.”
Calls for Accountability
The timing of these leaks adds immense pressure to the Prime Minister as Israel continues to navigate the complexities of a regional ceasefire and the disarmament of Hamas. Public fury has intensified among families of the October 7 victims and hostages, who view the 2018 briefing as proof that the disaster was preventable.
Netanyahu’s office has continued to deny the allegations, stating that the Prime Minister never received the “Jericho’s Walls” document until after the 2023 attack. However, sources within the Prime Minister’s Office suggest that internal documentation procedures track every classified briefing, potentially providing a paper trail that could be used in future state inquiries.
As the political fallout widens, the narrative of “total victory” is increasingly haunted by the ghosts of intelligence past, raising fundamental questions about who knew what, and why the warnings were ignored for five years.