Hamas' Plan for Oct. 7: Provoke a Regional War

At the lowest level, the goals of Hamas on Oct. 7 were made clear on a note found on a dead fighter that read, "Kill as many people and take as many hostages as possible." Analysts say evidence shows that Hamas' overall plan is becoming equally clear: Inflict such historic harm to Israelis that their government would be compelled to launch an overwhelming military response, leading to a wider war. More than a dozen security and intelligence officials from four Western and Middle Eastern nations shared their findings with the Washington Post.

The idea was to prompt renewed, violent Palestinian resistance in the region, analysts said. Hamas also wanted to end the efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Arab states. "They were very clear-eyed as to what would happen to Gaza on the day after," said a senior Israeli military official. "Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it," a member of the Hamas politburo said in an interview after the attack. The Post's report can be found here. (More Israel-Hamas war stories.)