Qatar’s Al Jazeera broadcaster on Friday aired what it said was previously unseen footage of Hamas’s top commanders in the Gaza Strip, along with documents it said detailed the terror group’s preparations for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
One document, dated Oct. 5, 2023, was presented as an operational order signed by Mohammed Deif, then commander of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing. According to the broadcast, it set the attack’s start time at 6:30 a.m.
A second document, attributed to a February 2023 meeting of Hamas’s top command, purportedly recorded a decision to begin preparations for the assault.
I wonder how Al Jazeera got all this exclusive Hamas footage of them planning 7 October 🤔 https://t.co/mI151dvnyq
— Andrew Fox (@Mr_Andrew_Fox) October 31, 2026
Documents seized by the IDF in Gaza previously revealed that Hamas leaders had discussed the attack for more than two years, referring to it as “the big project,” JNS reported in October 2024, citing The New York Times. The records detailed efforts to deceive Israel into believing that Hamas wanted calm and was focused on Gaza’s economic development.
The video footage shows Deif in an operations room, examining models of Israeli tanks and discussing battle plans with brigade commanders.
Deif, who had led Hamas’s military wing since 2002, was killed alongside Khan Yunis Brigade commander Rafa’a Salameh in an Israeli strike in southern Gaza on July 13, 2024. Israel confirmed Deif’s death the following month, while Hamas publicly acknowledged it in January 2025.
Another clip shows Deif sitting in a tunnel, surrounded by top commanders. The clip was filmed before May 2021. Gaza City Brigade commander Bassem Issa, who appears in it, was killed by the Israel Defense Forces that month during “Operation Guardian of the Walls.”
All other commanders seen at that gathering have been killed by the IDF since the Oct. 7 massacre, according to Israeli media.
Other clips show Deif touring a rocket manufacturing site with two other top Hamas terrorists, Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh. In one clip, Sinwar calls Deif to congratulate him on the ceasefire that ended the May 2021 war.
The videos aired on Al Jazeera‘s “The Hidden Is More Immense” documentary series. Hamas also posted them on its official Telegram channel.
