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Secret documents reveal Iran, Hezbollah knew of Oct. 7 plan
Hamas pleaded with Iran to join its Oct. 7, 2023 attack months in advance, the New York Times reported on Saturday, citing documents seized by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza back in January.
According to the report, the deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, Khalil al-Hayya, informed senior Iranian commander Mohammed Said Izadi of the plot in July 2023, in Lebanon.
Although the Iranians denied any involvement in the Oct. 7 attack, Hamas leadership meetings, obtained in transcribed form and verified by the Times, reveal that al-Hayya asked Izadi to strike sensitive sites in Israel in “the first hour” of the attack.
The documents further reveal that Hamas also intended to convene with Hezbollah’s late leader Hassan Nasrallah, but that the meeting was postponed. It was not clear whether a later meeting was held in person.
According to the recordings, Izadi said that Iran and Hezbollah sanctioned the attack in principle, but that more time was needed “to prepare the environment.”
Hamas was encouraged that its allies would not leave it “exposed,” but concluded that it might launch the attack on its own, the Times reported.
Three factors propelled Hamas’s decision to act alone, based on the recordings:
• Concern over Israel’s development of a new laser defense system.
• Israel’s election of a right-wing government with growing Israeli presence on the Temple Mount, which “can’t make us be patient.”
• The expanding divisions within Israeli society over issues such as the government’s judicial reform push.
• The desire to quash normalization talks between Jerusalem and Riyadh.
The documents moreover showed that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar held secret meetings with a small syndicate of the terror group’s political and military seniors for a period of more than two years. They named the plot “the big project” and deliberately schemed to deceive Israel, conveying the impression that Gaza was focused on “life and economic growth.” The Hamas leaders further stated that they “must keep the enemy convinced that Hamas in Gaza wants calm.”
The Hamas leadership expressed its relief that several instances of rising Israeli-Palestinian tensions had not developed into confrontations.
Sinwar conveyed his hope that the attack, alongside a broader regional war, would bring about Israel’s “collapse.”
The Times also reported that Hamas initially planned to execute the attack in the fall of 2022, but was delayed, perhaps due to efforts to persuade Iran and Hezbollah to join in.
According to the Times, the recordings were discovered on a computer found by Israeli troops in an underground Hamas command center in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
On Oct. 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists, as well as Gazan civilians, invaded Israeli communities in the western Negev, massacring 1,200 individuals, wounding thousands and kidnapping 251 more into the Palestinian enclave. The attack instigated a war that has expanded into multiple fronts, with Hezbollah, Yemen’s Houthis, Iraqi paramilitary groups and Iran directly attacking the Jewish state.
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Trump Threatens to Hit Iran Infrastructure on Tuesday if Strait Remains Blocked
US President Donald Trump arrives to award the medal of honor to Master Sgt. Roderick ‘Roddie’ W. Edmonds, Staff Sgt. Michael H. Ollis, and retired Command Sgt. Maj. Terry P. Richardson during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 02 March 2026.
US President Donald Trump said in an expletive-laden social media post on Sunday that the United States will target Iran’s power plants and bridges on Tuesday if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened.
“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post, referencing the key shipping lane that Tehran has effectively closed since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran more than a month ago.
“Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH!,” Trump said, ending his Easter morning post with: “Praise be to Allah.”
The president separately said he would hold a news conference on Monday in the Oval Office, after the US military rescued two US pilots whose aircraft were downed in Iran.
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Zelensky in Syria to Discuss Security Cooperation with Sharaa
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy looks on during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine March 25, 2026. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to work for enhanced security in talks on Sunday with his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa, as Kyiv seeks to promote its military expertise across the region following the outbreak of the Iran war.
Zelensky, continuing his tour of Middle East countries, also said Ukraine wants to contribute to food security in the region.
In recent weeks, Zelensky has visited several countries across the Middle East, offering Ukrainian expertise in countering drone and missile attacks, developed during its four-year war with Russia.
“We agreed to work together to provide more security and opportunities for development for our societies,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “There is a great interest in exchanging military and security experience.”
Zelensky told the Syrian leader that Ukraine, as a major grain producer, was a reliable supplier of food and said the two leaders “discussed joint opportunities to strengthen food security across the region.”
In Turkey on Saturday, Zelensky said he had agreed on “new steps” in security cooperation with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and discussed opportunities in joint gas infrastructure projects and gas field development.
“Today in Damascus we continue our active Ukrainian diplomacy aimed at real security and economic cooperation,” Zelensky said on X after his arrival.
It was the Ukrainian leader’s first trip to Syria since diplomatic relations were re-established at the end of last year following the fall of Syria’s long-time strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Zelensky’s talks with Sharaa were linked to defense in light of the US-Israeli war in Iran, said one Syrian source, a government adviser. Syria is not known to have any air defenses capable of dealing with Iranian drones or missiles.
During Zelensky’s visits to Gulf states last weekend, Ukraine signed long-term military cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and he said that a similar agreement was close to completion with UAE.
Syria is home to two major Russian military bases, used by its navy and air force. Sharaa said on Tuesday at an event in Chatham House in London that work was under way to transform these into “centers to train the Syrian army.”
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China Ready to Cooperate with Russia to Ease Middle East Tension, Foreign Minister Says
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi attends the 14th EAST Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in the 57th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the National Convention Center, in Vientiane, Laos July 27, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa/File Photo
China is willing to continue to cooperate with Russia at the UN Security Council and make efforts to cool down the Middle East situation, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in a phone call on Sunday.
Wang said the fundamental way to resolve navigation issues in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ceasefire as soon as possible, adding that China has always advocated political settlement of hotspot issues through dialogue and negotiation.
The foreign ministers’ call came ahead of a U.N. Security Council vote next week on a Bahraini resolution to protect commercial shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
As permanent UNSC members, China and Russia should “adopt an objective and balanced approach and seek to win greater understanding and support from the international community,” Wang told Lavrov, according to a statement from his ministry.
China has repeatedly called for a ceasefire in the Gulf region and Middle East, urging an end to the fighting that has run for more than a month and largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping artery for oil and gas.