Al-Sinwar publicly spoke of a 'Flood' one year before October 7

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Reuters + Israeli media
1 Dec 2023 22:13
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Israeli and international outlets have paid particular attention to public statements that have been made by Yahya al-Sinwar, who warned 'Israel' of an upcoming flood in December 2022.

Yahya al-Sinwar, the President of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, chairs a meeting with leaders of Palestinian factions at his office in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Palestine, April 13, 2022 (AP)

"We will come to you, God willing, in a roaring flood. We will come to you with endless rockets, we will come to you in a limitless flood of soldiers, we will come to you with millions of our people, like the repeating tide," Yahya al-Sinwar, the President of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, said in an address on December 14, 2022.

Reuters, highlighted al-Sinwar's remarks in an article published on Friday, saying that the Resistance leader planned for the October 7 attack on Israeli positions, in plain sight.

In the same context, the Israeli Jerusalem Post, citing unnamed security sources, said that Al-Qassam Brigades leader, Mohammad Deif, and al-Sinwar were aware of close Israeli spying and used alternative methods to communicate messages.

"No one understood this, not Aman (Military Intelligence), not the Shin Bet, nor the Mossad," a security official told JP. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have left the border unguarded, with no basic response from the ground or air."

The Israeli media outlet, citing a security source, said that the Palestinian Resistance faction conducting "a perfect deception exercise," in preparation for the October 7, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.

The newspaper also pointed to a failed Israeli occupation forces (IOF) attempt to install tapping devices in "Hamas strongholds," however the IOF were discovered in Khan Younis, failing their mission.

Hamas was able to capture some of the devices left behind by the IOF and decode them to discover IOF surveillance techniques.

From detainee to freed leader

On another note, Reuters quoted a senior Israeli security official as saying that al-Sinwar had an impact on the talks mediated by Qatar, leading to the "ceasefire" that ended today, Friday, after the release of more than 200 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of dozens of Israeli captives in the Gaza Strip.

In this context, Reuters noted that the issue of prisoner exchange is a very personal matter for al-Sinwar, who spent half of his life behind bars and pledged to liberate all Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

Al-Sinwar himself was one of 1,027 Palestinians released from Israeli prisons in exchange for one Israeli soldier held in Gaza in 2011. At that time, al-Sinwar called on the Palestinian Resistance to ensure the release of all Palestinian detainees.

Israeli public wants a ceasefire

During the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, the President of Hamas in the Gaza Strip said that the Palestinian Resistance is ready to release all Israeli captives it holds, in exchange for the release of all Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons.

According to a survey conducted by the Maariv newspaper, just before the renewal of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip this morning, the majority of Israelis supported the extension of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the daily release of prisoners by Hamas.

The survey showed that a clear majority of 54% of all participants in the survey "support the continuation of the exchange deal and the cessation of the ceasefire agreement that took place."

Moreover, the results show that only 25% of those surveyed opposed the idea, while 21% did not give a definitive answer. Furthermore, 40% of those who brought Netanyahu to power in the Israeli government said that they support the extension of the deal.