A senior Hamas official said the militant group was taken aback by the effectiveness of its surprise multi-front attack on Israel over the weekend, saying that leadership expected their incursions to be halted by Israeli forces. “We were surprised by this great collapse,” Ali Barakeh told the Associated Press on Monday. “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.” An unnamed diplomatic source elaborated on Hamas’ scuppered plans to the Middle Eastern news outlet Al-Monitor, saying, “They hoped to kill some Israelis, embarrass the [Israel Defense Forces] and return to Gaza with two or three kidnapped Israelis.” Now, with more than 1,200 Israelis dead as a result of the attacks and more than 100 being held hostage, Hamas “are very worried,” the source said. “They will face the entire Israeli army inside Gaza. That’s the tragedy of their success.” Ahead of an expected large-scale ground invasion over the Gaza border, Barakeh told the AP that Palestinian militants had “prepared well” for prolonged and total war.
