Down into hell..

Hamas attack plans show challenge facing military when it invades

- CHRIS HUGHES

ISRAELI intelligence experts have found a mass of Hamas battle plans, which reveal a high level of planning for the October 7 massacre.

The information - taken from many of the 1500 killed Hamas gunmen indicates Gaza will be fiercely defended when Israel launches a ground assault.

Israeli forces expect blistering resistance from fighters using a complex network of booby-trapped tunnels.

A source said: "Hamas clearly planned the [massacre], so they will definitely have prepared the defence of Gaza as they know what's coming.

"It is fair to assume that if the level of sophistication for the brutal initial attacks was unexpectedly high that in equal measure we should not underestimate the Hamas defences." Unmanned ground vehicle drones are set to be sent into the miles of underground networks, followed by Israel's elite "tunnel warrior" troops to clear them of Hamas fighters. "Bunker buster" bombs may be dropped on tunnel entrances but it would mean Israeli troops having to withdraw at a distance.

If this is expected to slow down the attack, Israel's special forces will send in the ground drones to map out the tunnels, find the booby traps and destroy them before entering.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Parliament yesterday that at least six Britons were killed in the massacre and 10 are missing.

Israel's military said the number of people it believes are being held hostage in Gaza has increased from 155 to 199.

According to intelligence documents, Hamas gunmen were found to be carrying operational guides and handbooks and encrypted phones.

Detailed orders have been found containing which communities to target and the atrocities to commit, including instructions on abductions.

The collection confirms Hamas had been preparing the slaughter for months and sources believe the group has prepared a hellish defence of Gaza.