Some previously hidden secrets of the "Aqsa Flood" operation have emerged in new information provided by a report published by the French newspaper Le Figaro on Wednesday. The report states that the idea for the operation had been brewing for two years, according to a source close to Hamas leadership in Jordan, who told the newspaper, "The first time I heard about it was in 2021." Le Figaro also reported that Osama Hamdan, a Hamas leader in Beirut, learned about the October 7 attack "by listening to the news," and that the only person informed prior to its execution was the Deputy Political Bureau Chief of Hamas, Saleh al-Arouri, who received a phone call from Yahya Sinwar asking him to "inform" Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah, about the operation 30 minutes before its execution.
Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif carefully concealed some of their preparations for the attack, including Sinwar appointing new leaders in charge of most of the Al-Qassam Brigades, replacing those known to Israel; however, the old commanders remained in their positions for camouflage. About a month and a half before the operation, Hamas enforced secrecy on its main military leaders and ordered them to limit their communications with each other.
The newspaper also confirmed that "the leader of Hezbollah was angry because Iran did not inform him of Hamas's plan." Furthermore, Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif "are angry that Nasrallah did not utilize Hezbollah's full force after the attack on southern Israel," and they sent an angry message in this regard. Even Hamas's Political Bureau Chief, Ismail Haniyeh, traveled to Tehran to urge Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to join the war; however, the leader refused his request.
