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How Hamas militants prepared for brutal ground assault on Israel-Gaza border
Hamas has released a video showing how it trained to destroy barriers on the Israel-Gaza border, allowing it to begin its mass slaughter of civilians.
It shows members of its Qassami Engineering Corps laying explosives on wire fences and barriers, taking cover and blowing them up.
The fence separating the Gaza Strip from Israel was breached in multiple places in Saturday’s attack, allowing fighters to stream in and begin their rampage.
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The video also shows Hamas members in combat gear carrying small metal ramps on their backs and unfolding them for motorbikes to ride over the downed fences.
Bikes were used by many of the militants during the attack, with one widely shared video showing a young Israeli woman being forced onto a motorcycle and ridden away.
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Moment woman kidnapped by Hamas fighters
Hamas also built a mock Israeli settlement in Gaza and practised attacks, a source close to the group told the Reuters news agency.
The training appears to have been chillingly effective, with hundreds of civilians murdered in their towns and settlements.
Kfar Aza is one such place, where Sky News witnessed the terrible aftermath – lines of body bags – after residents there went 17 hours before help arrived.
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‘The scene of a massacre’
The training video gives a glimpse into how much planning went into the multi-pronged attack that’s so far claimed more than 1,200 Israeli lives.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have also been killed in retaliatory attacks.
The Hamas source said that after breaching the fences, the tactic was for bulldozers to move in to enlarge the gap to allow 4x4s vehicles in – a scene verified by witnesses.
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Hamas militants attack kibbutz
Such was the determination to avoid Israel learning of the attack, the source said many taking part in the training did not know what it was for – with many Hamas commanders also said to be unaware.
Israeli authorities have admitted they were caught woefully unaware after being lulled into a false sense of security that Hamas was not planning any significant offensive.