Maybe the link in the tweet is wrong but this isnt a Reuters report, it is AFP and it doesn't mention, a mock settlement being built or that many Hamas leaders were unaware. Still an interesting article though about Israel believing economic incentives had moderated Hamas's ideologocal view against Isreal.
Yeah not sure what happened to the original link to the Reuters piece. The planning an OPSEC below.
https://www.reuters.com/world/middl...hamas-planned-devastating-assault-2023-10-08/
Israel has long prided itself on its ability to infiltrate and monitor Islamist groups. As a consequence, the source close to Hamas said, a crucial part of the plan was to avoid leaks.
Many Hamas leaders were unaware of the plans and, while training, the 1,000 fighters deployed in the assault had no inkling of the exact purpose of the exercises, the source added.
When the day came, the operation was divided into four parts, the Hamas source said, describing the various elements.
The first move was a barrage of 3,000 rockets fired from Gaza that coincided with incursions by fighters who flew hang gliders, or motorised paragliders, over the border, the source said. Israel has previously said 2,500 rockets were fired at first.
Once the fighters on hang-gliders were on the ground, they secured the terrain so an elite commando unit could storm the fortified electronic and cement wall built by Israel to prevent infiltration.
The fighters used explosives to breach the barriers and then sped across on motorbikes. Bulldozers widened the gaps and more fighters entered in four-wheel drives, scenes that witnesses described.