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Israeli officials obtained Hamas’s battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out. The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named “Jericho Wall,” outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people. Hamas followed the blueprint with shocking precision. The document called for a barrage of rockets at the outset of the attack, drones to knock out the security cameras and automated machine guns along the border, and gunmen to pour into Israel en masse in paragliders, on motorcycles and on foot — all of which happened on Oct. 7.

Organizations: The New York Times, Hamas Locations: Gaza, Israel, paragliders

That strategy has unfolded over the past three weeks as more than 40,000 Israeli soldiers encircled Gaza City, where Israeli officials say Hamas commanders were concentrated. The soldiers then attacked fighters and bunkers, all while targeting a vast tunnel network that Israeli officials say enables Hamas forces to hide and carry out operations. Israeli officials also assessed that striking so deeply in the heart of Gaza City would pressure Hamas to reach a deal on hostage releases. Al-Shifa became Exhibit A in this narrative, as the Israeli military claimed Hamas used a vast maze of tunnels underneath the hospital as a base. So far it is not clear that the Israeli strategy is working.

Persons: Shifa, Daniel Hagari, Yoav Gallant, Israel Organizations: Shifa, Israel, Hamas Locations: Gaza City, Gaza, Al, Israel

director, said on Wednesday that the bureau had opened a slew of investigations into Hamas as it tries to thwart potential attacks and stymie financial support for the militant group. He added, “We’ve kept our sights on Hamas and have multiple investigations into individuals affiliated with that foreign terrorist organization.”Among those killed on Oct. 7 were about three dozen American citizens, with another 10 unaccounted for. In a heated exchange, Mr. Wray said neither F.B.I. “The answer is, emphatically not,” Mr. Wray said, his temper rising. “Your day is coming, Mr. Wray,” he said.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, Mr, “ we’ve, “ We’ve, ” Mr, ”, Clay Higgins, peddled, Higgins Organizations: Homeland Security, Hamas, Islamic, Governmental Affairs, Republican, Capitol Locations: United States, Israel, Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Gaza, Louisiana

Kindergarten was in full swing for 30 children from Arab al-Aramshe, a village next to Israel’s border with Lebanon. It is a logistically complex and costly operation for the Israeli state, which is paying to house the evacuees indefinitely in 280 hotels and guesthouses scattered across the country. In the south, where many of the evacuees survived the Hamas attacks, it has recruited specialists to offer trauma counseling. Hunched over a laptop at the bar, Adeeb Mazal, Arab al-Aramshe’s community manager, tried to keep track of his vagabond villagers. And he worried about their mental health, with the idleness nourishing their fears about Hezbollah.

Persons: “, ”, Dalal Badra, Adeeb Mazal, ‘, ’ ”, Mazal Organizations: Golden, Israel’s Education Ministry, Jesus Locations: Arab, Lebanon, Nazareth, Gaza, Israel

The Israeli military has limited time to carry out its operations in Gaza before anger among Arabs in the region and frustration in the United States and other countries over the spiraling civilian death toll constrain Israel’s goal of eradicating Hamas, U.S. officials said this week. As senior Biden administration officials push Israel to do more to minimize civilian casualties, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Wednesday that he was worried each civilian killed in Gaza could generate future members of Hamas. More than 1,400 people were slain and more than 240 were taken hostage and ferried to Gaza. But the longer the Israeli military campaign continues, the greater the chance that the conflict will spark a wider war, several officials in the Biden administration said.

Persons: Charles Q, Brown Jr, General Brown, “, Biden, António Guterres, Israel Organizations: Biden, Joint Chiefs of Staff, United Nations, Hamas, Islamic Locations: Gaza, United States, Israel, Tokyo

Mr. Ziadna, 26, was slain inside his tent, and four members of his Bedouin family vanished. At least 17 people killed in the Hamas attacks were Bedouins in and around Rahat, the biggest city in an impoverished, predominantly Bedouin area of southern Israel. Hamas did not directly target Bedouins, but “rockets and bullets don’t discriminate,” Dr. Fraiha said. People are scared.”Even before the recent attacks, Bedouins had long suffered at the hands of Hamas. The largely aluminum roofs of the Bedouin homes turn into deadly shrapnel, which she called “knives.” Hamas rockets killed several members of one Bedouin community.

Persons: Alrahman Aatef Ziadna, Ziadna, Ayesha Ziadna, Yasmeen Abu Fraiha, Fraiha, ” Ms, Ata Abu Mediam Locations: Zikkim, Gaza, Rahat, Israel, Arab, Tel Sheva, Beer Sheva

“Our Iraqi soldiers were clearing out, using bulldozers, ISIS fighters who were literally dug into the rubble,” he said. Palestinians responded by building hundreds of tunnels to smuggle in food, goods, people and weapons. The tunnels cost Hamas about $3 million each, according to the Israeli military. The tunnel system stretches all the way to the Israeli border in the north. Israel has limited visibility into tunnel activity on the Egyptian side of the border, he added.

Persons: “, Yocheved, Daniel Hagari, Votel, ”, Joel Roskin, Roskin Organizations: Islamic, Iraqi, ISIS, Bar, Ilan University Locations: Iraqi, Mosul, Gaza, Israel, Al Shifa, Israel’s, Egypt, Northern Sinai

Roni Abuharon, a detective in the southern Israeli city of Ofakim, grabbed his pistol and floppy police hat. “Don’t leave me alone,” his wife pleaded as sirens signaled incoming rockets from the Gaza Strip, less than 20 miles away. With the Israeli military slow to respond to the unfolding horror, it fell to local police officers — many of them with nothing more than pistols — to defend the city and prevent Hamas from pushing deeper into Israel. Building on reports in the Israeli media, the Times reporting reveals the heroism and harrowing choices of local officers and residents during a terrifying wait for a rescue. In Ofakim, residents called it “Black Shabbat.”The AmbushTwo white pickup trucks rolled into town around 6 a.m., before any siren had sounded.

Persons: Roni Abuharon, Don’t, ”, Itamar Alus, Alus, Cochy Abuharon, Ofakim, slinging Organizations: New York Times Locations: Ofakim, Gaza, Israel

Yet videos released by Hamas fighters themselves depict the brutal killing of unarmed civilians. Yaakov Peri, a former head of the Shin Bet, the Israeli security service, said Israel may have agreed to let humanitarian aid enter Gaza on Saturday morning in light of the hostages’ release Friday night. “But we cannot fall for this trap.”There are still many questions of why, of all the 200 or so hostages, the Raanans were released. Hamas might be trying to temper Israeli retaliation on Gaza by gaining some good will from the Biden administration. President Biden and his team have been closely advising Israel on how it is waging its war on Gaza, although it is not clear how much Israel actually listens to what the Americans say.

Persons: Gazans, —, Yaakov Peri, Shin, Mr, Peri, Robert D’Amico, ”, D’Amico, Biden Organizations: Hamas Locations: Israel, Gaza, California

In the dense warrens of Gaza, Hamas is believed to hold at least 199 people hostage, guarded by gunmen and booby traps, likely scattered and hidden from any would-be rescuers as Israel readies a ground invasion. Israeli and U.S. commandos have pulled off extraordinary hostage rescues before. That has left desperate, complex diplomacy — led by the United States and Qatar, a tiny nation with extensive ties to militant groups — as the best option to save hostages in the eyes of many current and former officials. In the talks so far, Qatar is acting as a mediator between Hamas and officials from the United States, which like Israel and the European Union considers Hamas a terrorist group. Adding even more complexity to the talks, there are people from more than 30 countries among the hostages.

Persons: — Organizations: U.S, Hamas, European Union Locations: Gaza, Israel, United States, Qatar

☆ State Dept. Contractor Is Accused of Stealing Satellite Imagery of Africa
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Adam Goldman | More About Adam Goldman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

While the complaint does not disclose what country Mr. Lemma was working for, U.S. officials identified it as Ethiopia and described the suspected spying as narrow in focus. In a statement, the State Department said it would work with intelligence agencies and conduct a review of the national security and foreign policy implications of the case. According to a court filing, Mr. Lemma had been employed by the State Department since at least 2021, working during the evenings at a secure facility in Washington. At the State Department, Mr. Lemma served as an information technology administrator in its intelligence arm, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, known as I.N.R., and had access to classified systems, the filing said. The intelligence arm handles some of the most sensitive American intelligence, which is used to better inform ambassadors and other senior diplomats.

Organizations: State Department, Justice Department, of Intelligence, Research Locations: Ethiopia, Washington, Eritrea

One day in June of last year, at a time when federal investigators were demanding security footage from former President Donald J. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Yuscil Taveras shared an explosive secret. Mr. Taveras, who ran Mar-a-Lago’s technology department from a cramped work space in the basement of the sprawling Florida property, confided in an office mate that another colleague had just asked him, at Mr. Trump’s request, to delete the footage that investigators were seeking. Mr. Taveras later repeated that story to at least two more colleagues, who in turn shared it with others, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Before long, the story had ricocheted around the grounds of Mr. Trump’s gold-adorned private club and up the chain of command at Trump Tower in Manhattan, prompting Mr. Taveras’s superiors in New York to warn against deleting the tapes. But by then, Mr. Taveras had already balked at Mr. Trump’s request.

Persons: Donald J, Trump’s, Yuscil Taveras, Taveras, Mr, Taveras’s Organizations: Trump, Mr, Mar Locations: Lago, Florida, Manhattan, New York

By the time he reached middle age, Charlie McGonigal was living a comfortable suburban life. He had married and raised two children in a tidy Maryland neighborhood near the Capital Beltway. He coached his co-workers on an office softball team and went to church on Sundays. Apart from his outward image as a wholesome and responsible G-man, however, there was another, less visible side to Mr. McGonigal, federal prosecutors and his former colleagues say. But a close look at Mr. McGonigal’s life and career reveals an arc that appears to have little or nothing to do with espionage and international intrigue.

Persons: Charlie McGonigal, “, ”, Charles Franklin McGonigal, McGonigal, McGonigal’s Organizations: Federal Bureau of Investigation Locations: Maryland, Ohio, New York, Russian, Russia

agent on Wednesday fatally shot a man in Provo, Utah, who officials said was armed and had threatened to assassinate President Biden just hours before the president was scheduled to speak in nearby Salt Lake City. Craig D. Robertson, 75, was also charged with threatening to shoot other elected officials, including Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, as well as with making threats against law enforcement officials, according to court documents filed a day earlier in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City. The shooting comes at a moment of intense polarization in American politics. The three indictments of former President Donald J. Trump have offered fodder for supporters and allies, who have seized on his mounting legal peril to fan a narrative of a Justice Department weaponized against him and bent on derailing the Republican front-runner’s campaign to retake the White House.

Persons: Biden, Craig D, Robertson, Alvin L, Bragg, Donald J, Trump, weaponized Organizations: Justice, Republican Locations: Provo , Utah, Salt Lake City, Manhattan, U.S

Two Navy sailors in Southern California were arrested and accused of providing military secrets and sensitive information to Chinese intelligence officers, according to a pair of federal indictments unsealed on Thursday. Jinchao Wei, known as Patrick Wei, 22, was charged with spying for the Chinese under the Espionage Act. As a machinist’s mate, investigators said, he had clearance that gave him access to sensitive national security information. Already, the extent of Chinese spying, including cyberbreaches, has prompted top national security officials to sound the alarm. director, Christopher A. Wray, warned, “There’s no country that presents a more significant threat to our innovation, our ideas our economic security, our national security than the Chinese government.”

Persons: Jinchao Wei, Patrick Wei, Wei, Wenheng Zhao, Thomas, Zhao, Christopher A, Wray, “, ” Organizations: Naval Base San, Pacific Fleet, Naval Base Locations: Southern California, Essex, Naval Base San Diego, Naval Base Ventura County, Port Hueneme, Pacific, China

Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans have accused Mr. Smith, without evidence, of pursuing a politically motivated investigation intended to destroy Mr. Trump’s chances of retaking the White House, including by leaking details of the case. The former president has taken to calling Mr. Smith “deranged,” and some of his supporters have threatened the special counsel, his family and his team — prompting the U.S. Mr. Smith was flanked by a three-person security detail inside his own building when he delivered remarks to reporters on Tuesday. Mr. Mueller was an established and trusted national figure when he was appointed special counsel, unlike Mr. Smith, who was virtually unknown outside the department and drew a mixed record during his tenure. Mr. Mueller had already solidified a reputation as the most important F.B.I.

Persons: Mueller, ”, Goodman, Trump, Smith, Trump’s, Smith “, Edgar Hoover Organizations: Just Security, Trump, U.S

uncovered at least part of the answer: It was the F.B.I. The deal for the surveillance tool between the contractor, Riva Networks, and NSO was completed in November 2021. This particular tool, known as Landmark, allowed government officials to track people in Mexico without their knowledge or consent. now says that it used the tool unwittingly and that Riva Networks misled the bureau. Once the agency discovered in late April that Riva had used the spying tool on its behalf, Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I.

Persons: Biden, Riva, Christopher A, Wray Organizations: New York Times, NSO, U.S ., White, Riva Networks, Commerce Department Locations: Mexico

Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing criminal investigations into former President Donald J. Trump, employs 40 to 60 career prosecutors, paralegals and support staff, augmented by a rotating cast of F.B.I. agents and technical specialists, according to people familiar with the situation. In his first four months on the job, starting in November, Mr. Smith’s investigation incurred expenses of $9.2 million. Marshals Service to protect Mr. Smith, his family and other investigators who have faced threats after the former president and his allies singled them out on social media. At this rate, the special counsel is on track to spend about $25 million a year.

Persons: Jack Smith, Donald J, Trump, Smith Organizations: Mr, U.S . Marshals Service

Federal prosecutors have introduced a new twist in the Jan. 6 investigation by suggesting in a target letter that they could charge former President Donald J. Trump with violating a civil rights statute that dates back to the post-Civil War Reconstruction era, according to three people familiar with the matter. The letter to Mr. Trump from the special counsel, Jack Smith, referred to three criminal statutes as part of the grand jury investigation into Mr. Trump’s efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss, according to two people with knowledge of its contents. Two of the statutes were familiar from the criminal referral by the House Jan. 6 committee and months of discussion by legal experts: conspiracy to defraud the government and obstruction of an official proceeding. But the third criminal law cited in the letter was a surprise: Section 241 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which makes it a crime for people to “conspire to injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate any person” in the “free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States.”Congress enacted that statute after the Civil War to provide a tool for federal agents to go after Southern whites, including Ku Klux Klan members, who engaged in terrorism to prevent formerly enslaved African Americans from voting. But in the modern era, it has been used more broadly, including in cases of voting fraud conspiracies.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Jack Smith, “ Organizations: Trump, United States Code, Ku Klux Klan Locations: United States, ”, Southern

At least two grand juries in Washington have been hearing matters related to Mr. Trump’s efforts to stay in office. Two of Mr. Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Christopher M. Kise, briefly mentioned the new target letter at a pretrial hearing in Florida on Tuesday on the documents case. In disclosing that he had received the target letter, Mr. Trump said he was given four days to testify before a grand jury if he chooses. Fani T. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., who has pressed ahead with her own investigation of Mr. Trump and his allies, could bring charges as early as next month. If she were to proceed first, that could complicate Mr. Smith’s case.

Persons: Todd Blanche, Christopher M, Kise, Blanche, Trump, Willis, Smith Organizations: Court Locations: Washington, Trump, Fort Pierce, Fla, Florida, Fulton County ,

Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. Mr. Wray, who is appearing for the first time before the House Judiciary Committee since Republicans won the House, is likely girding for the worst. The committee, led by Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio, says it “will examine the politicization” of the F.B.I. under Mr. Wray and Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. That criticism was once trained on the bureau’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia during the 2016 election.

Persons: Christopher A, Wray, Donald J, Trump, Jim Jordan, General Merrick B, Garland, Stoked, Department’s, Hunter Biden Organizations: Republicans, Committee, Republican, Trump Locations: Ohio, Russia, Lago

An Israeli researcher missing for months in Iraq is being held by a Shiite militia, according to a statement from the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. She holds both Israeli and Russian passports and entered the country using her Russian passport, according to the Israeli government. Israel and Iraq do not have diplomatic relations, so she would not have been allowed to enter with an Israeli passport. Ms. Tsurkov went to Iraq in January to do academic research. As well as studying at Princeton, she is a fellow at the New Lines Institute for Strategy and Policy, a Washington-based research group.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Elizabeth Tsurkov, Tsurkov Organizations: Princeton University, Hezbollah, Princeton, New Lines Institute, Strategy Locations: Iraq, Iran, Baghdad, Israel, Washington

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