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‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ : Initiated by 70 Elite Fighters, Crafted by 5 Hamas Leaders

Palestinians in Khan Yunis atop an Israeli military vehicle seized during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation (DPA)
Palestinians in Khan Yunis atop an Israeli military vehicle seized during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation (DPA)
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‘Al-Aqsa Flood’ : Initiated by 70 Elite Fighters, Crafted by 5 Hamas Leaders

Palestinians in Khan Yunis atop an Israeli military vehicle seized during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation (DPA)
Palestinians in Khan Yunis atop an Israeli military vehicle seized during the Al-Aqsa Flood operation (DPA)

Palestinian sources closely associated with the leadership of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas in Gaza, have disclosed new details about the Al-Aqsa Flood attack on Oct.7, 2023.
This assault, which altered the landscape of the region, unfolded a new era with endless possibilities.
The surprise attack launched by Hamas resulted in the death of over 1,200 Israelis and the abduction of more than 200 others in settlements, kibbutzim, and military sites in the Gaza envelope.
In response, Israel claims to have killed a significant number of perpetrators of Al-Aqsa Flood, totaling at least 1,500 members of Hamas.
Additionally, Israel has reported the killing of over 23,000 Palestinians in its ongoing retaliatory war in Gaza.
The Al-Aqsa Flood operation began with just 70 fighters, launching a surprise attack along the entire Gaza Strip border, from north to south, Palestinian sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
They crossed the Israeli border by strategically exploding prepared explosives to breach the thick walls of the Gaza-Israel barrier.
Additionally, they used gliders and parachutes to position fighters behind, above, and around Israeli sites.
Sources reveal that those involved in the operation were selected from Hamas’ “Elite Unit” across various areas in Gaza, having undergone extensive training over the years.
The plan to infiltrate settlements in Gaza’s envelope is not new, originating before the 2014 war and revisited after the 2021 “Sword of Jerusalem” battle.
After receiving confidential training, elite members pledged secrecy and refrained from discussing plans, even though they were unaware of any clear attack plan.
Their training focused solely on infiltrating settlements.
Sources reveal that many brigade leaders in various Gaza areas were unaware of attack details or plans, while some had limited information about their tasks.
This secrecy was part of a security plan to prevent leaks to Israeli intelligence, which later admitted to failing to prevent the Oct. 7 attack.
The decision and timing of the attack were reportedly made by only five individuals: Yahya Sinwar, Hamas leader in Gaza; Mohammed al-Deif, leader of the Al-Qassam Brigades; Mohammed Sinwar (Yahya’s brother), wanted by Israel and a key assistant to al-Deif.
The other two individuals are Rouhi Mushtaha, a Hamas leader close to Sinwar, and Ayman Nofal, a close associate of al-Deif and former head of Al-Qassam Brigades’ intelligence, assassinated by Israel in the current war.
According to sources, the officials responsible for planning the operation informed Al-Qassam Brigades’ unit leaders about the preparations and the attack plan, excluding the exact timing.
They were notified three days before final readiness, meeting with regional brigade leaders who were assigned tasks without specifying the “point of no return.”
Brigade leaders then prepared their selected forces.
Ayman Siyam, the leader of the Gaza rocket unit (also assassinated during this war), received instructions to launch hundreds of rockets simultaneously with the attack.
The sources explained that Oct. 7 was chosen based on reports of complete calm on the borders.
The decision-makers concluded on Friday that Saturday morning would be the most suitable time (Israel’s day off).
They waited until midnight on the eve of Oct.7 and then gave the order to prepare.
Field commanders and elite forces received instructions and began moving in the early hours, marking the start of the operation.
The secrecy was also extended to the political leaders of Hamas.
According to sources, Hamas leaders received a briefing just hours before the operation, instructing them to go into hiding.
Senior leaders, including Ismail Haniyeh and Saleh al-Arouri, were informed of an impending attack but received no specific details or timing until a few hours before.
The primary plan aimed for a significant attack and capturing Israeli soldiers, but unexpected events made it more extensive.
Israeli defense lines collapsed easily, leading to the immediate capture and casualties of many soldiers.
After an hour and a half, remaining elite units in Al-Qassam Brigades were mobilized to support those inside the settlements.
Other armed factions were later informed about the possibility of participating, expanding the attack as hundreds entered the settlements.
After capturing dozens of Israelis, Al-Qassam Brigades’ leadership instructed fighters to engage Israeli forces, using the opportunity to focus on gathering and hiding the abductees amid significant chaos.
Hamas and Palestinian groups, along with others, managed to move about 240 abducted individuals, including Israelis and non-Israelis, into Gaza.
About 136 of them are still there after some were exchanged earlier.
The Israeli army also found some abductees’ bodies during ongoing ground operations and brought them into Israel.

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Arab World

Sudan War Leaves Deep Psychological Scars, Fuels Silent Crisis

Al-Nour Hospital in Omdurman, one of the hospitals that remained operational during the war, houses a psychiatric unit (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Nour Hospital in Omdurman, one of the hospitals that remained operational during the war, houses a psychiatric unit (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Sudan War Leaves Deep Psychological Scars, Fuels Silent Crisis

Al-Nour Hospital in Omdurman, one of the hospitals that remained operational during the war, houses a psychiatric unit (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Al-Nour Hospital in Omdurman, one of the hospitals that remained operational during the war, houses a psychiatric unit (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Sudan’s war is inflicting a growing psychological toll on the population, as rising levels of depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder compound the country’s security, humanitarian and economic crises.

The suffering of Sudanese civilians now extends beyond deaths and the hardship faced by the wounded, hungry and displaced. The conflict is also eroding the nation’s mental well-being.

Estimates by international organizations and local experts point to a worsening mental health crisis that could leave long-term scars on society unless psychological support services and specialized treatment are urgently expanded.

The World Health Organization said in a report that depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder are widespread in the capital, Khartoum. The prevalence of these disorders reached about 12% among secondary school students and exceeded 59% among displaced persons.

Prolonged conflict in Sudan has created a growing burden of mental health disorders, the report said, warning that children are among the most vulnerable.

They face risks including kidnapping, sexual violence, forced recruitment and child marriage, experiences that can leave lasting psychological damage.

Major psychotic disorders remain relatively rare, the organization said, while reliable data on suicide and drug abuse remain limited. Still, estimates indicate that more than one in five people living in conflict areas suffers from a mental health disorder.

Sudan also faces a severe shortage of specialists, with only 899 mental health professionals nationwide, according to statistics issued in 2020.

Rising mental illness rates

In December 2025, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health reported a significant rise in mental illness, saying the war and abuses against civilians have sharply increased the need for urgent intervention.

The ministry announced a federal plan to rehabilitate psychiatric hospitals and addiction treatment centers to strengthen the health system’s response to growing demand.

Federal Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said mental disorders are rising globally, but the situation in Sudan is particularly complex under the conditions imposed by the war.

He said the ministry is working to raise public awareness of mental health, expand early detection services and improve access to treatment. He also called for adopting a comprehensive approach to mental health and allocating sufficient budgets to develop services within the national health system.

In January, the minister visited Al-Tijani Al-Mahi Hospital for Psychiatric and Neurological Diseases in Omdurman to assess the damage caused by the war.

Some wards and clinics have resumed operations, with more than 50 patients per day.

Psychological support for war-affected people

Psychologist Khadija Mohamed Al-Habib said a psychiatric unit opened at Al-Nour Teaching Hospital in Omdurman in October 2023 to provide psychological support for people affected by the war.

The unit offers counseling and therapy for patients suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. It also runs rehabilitation programs for children affected by landmines to support them psychologically and socially.

The clinic receives between 60 and 90 patients each week. It also provides psychological support in shelters, treats addiction cases and organizes awareness lectures on the dangers of drugs and ways to prevent them.

Sociologist Tagwa Mohamed Al-Bishra said the psychiatric unit does more than provide treatment, running volunteer initiatives to assist those affected by the war.

These efforts include providing daily meals and clothing for children, particularly during religious holidays, as well as supporting prosthetic limb fittings and surgical operations for the injured.

The team also assists unidentified patients in coordination with hospital administration and participates in food assistance programs with volunteers and the nutrition department.

Increasing cases in Al Jazirah state

In Al Jazirah state in central Sudan, mental health disorders have risen noticeably as the war’s effects deepen.

Dr. Al-Amin Diab, director of the Mental Health Hospital in Wad Madani, said a new psychiatric ward has opened to strengthen services under the exceptional circumstances facing the state.

The hospital most frequently treats depression, psychosis, manic episodes and postpartum depression. It admits between 15 and 20 cases weekly that require hospitalization, with numbers expected to rise.

Treatment and medication are provided free of charge with support from humanitarian organizations and official bodies to ease the burden on affected families.

Specialists say the war has triggered a silent mental health crisis that rivals the conflict’s economic and humanitarian devastation.

Rates of anxiety, addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and social phobia have risen across large segments of society.

Experts warn that ignoring mental health at this stage could have serious consequences for Sudan’s future, stressing that expanding psychological and social support services is now an urgent humanitarian and national priority.

Arab World

Iraq's Kurds Caught Between Washington and Tehran

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects the damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects the damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
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Iraq's Kurds Caught Between Washington and Tehran

An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects the damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)
An Iranian Kurdish Peshmerga member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) inspects the damage sustained at the Azadi Camp of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) following an Iranian cross-border attack in the town of Koye (Koysinjaq), in the east of Erbil district in the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Safin HAMID / AFP)

Despite repeated pledges by Kurdish leaders in Iraq’s Kurdistan region to remain neutral in the war between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other, their territory has come under near-daily attacks from Iran or Tehran-aligned armed factions in Iraq.

The attacks have left Kurdish leaders facing what one Kurdish official described as an “existential dilemma,” particularly as they coincide with US pressure to open a military front in western Iran in cooperation with Iranian Kurdish opposition parties.

In recent days, US media reported that President Donald Trump spoke by phone with Kurdish leaders Masoud Barzani and Bafel Talabani, urging them to “assist the Iranian Kurdish opposition” participating in the conflict. According to those reports, the two leaders expressed reservations.

Iran has long viewed Kurdish opposition groups based in Iraq’s Kurdistan region with suspicion. In September 2023, Baghdad and Tehran signed a security agreement requiring the disarmament of those groups, the closure of their headquarters and their relocation away from the shared border. Iran had previously launched several attacks on their positions.

By Saturday, the Kurdistan region had faced 100 missile and drone attacks carried out by Iran and allied Iraqi factions.

A headquarters of the Peshmerga, the region’s guard forces, in Sulaimaniyah came under a drone attack late on Friday that was shot down by ground defenses. The Iran-aligned group Saraya Awliya al-Dam claimed responsibility.

Bridge, not battlefield

Reiterating Kurdish pledges to stay out of the war, Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, restated the position in an interview with Fox News on Friday.

“Kurdistan needs to be a bridge, not a battlefield,” he said.

According to Talabani, the Kurds are in a unique position, as they are close allies of the US and at the same time neighbors of Iran. The Kurds can play a role in de-escalation when the time comes, he added.

Talabani said he currently sees a weaker Iranian regime, but added that its institutions remain intact despite differences with those in Kurdistan.

When the military objectives are achieved, diplomacy will begin, he said.

Talabani also described his call with Trump, saying the US president was very kind and very polite.

Talabani did not detail what the US president asked of Kurdish leaders, but said he understood that protecting civilians in Iraq was a priority and that Kurds in Iran deserve better treatment.

‘Existential dilemma’

A senior Kurdish official, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, described the situation as an “existential Kurdish dilemma.”

“Kurds often find themselves facing the same complex circumstances in conflicts across Iraq and the wider Middle East,” he said.

Today, he added, they face renewed fears about what might come next, especially as the Kurdistan region remains fragile because of internal divisions, disputes with Baghdad and hostility from Iran-aligned factions.

“Most Kurds hope the situation of their Iranian Kurdish brothers will improve, but they cannot offer meaningful assistance,” the official said. “The situation is extremely complicated, and involvement could turn into a real catastrophe for Kurdistan.”

He added that Kurdish experiences with the United States “have not been entirely encouraging,” noting that Washington recently abandoned Kurdish allies in Syria.

“Any Kurdish gamble in Iran will later backfire on Iraqi Kurdistan, especially if Washington eventually reaches some kind of settlement with Tehran,” he said.

The official also warned that the Kurdistan region is surrounded by hostile forces that could become even more antagonistic if it becomes involved in the war.

“Türkiye to the north will not allow the Iraqi Kurdistan model to be repeated in Iran,” he said.

“To the south we have the Iraqi government and Iran-aligned factions. If those factions overcome the consequences of the current war, they will vent their anger on us. I would not rule out an invasion of the region.”

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani discussed the latest security developments in a phone call on Friday with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, according to a government statement.

Both sides reaffirmed their rejection of attacks targeting Iraqi cities, including those in the Kurdistan region, and stressed that Iraqi territory should not be used as a launchpad for attacks on neighboring countries, while supporting steps aimed at strengthening security and stability in the region.

Arab World

Salam to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Refuse to Tie Lebanon’s Fate to Iran’s Interests

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters at the Grand Serail in Beirut, December 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters at the Grand Serail in Beirut, December 3, 2025. (Reuters)
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Salam to Asharq Al-Awsat: We Refuse to Tie Lebanon’s Fate to Iran’s Interests

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters at the Grand Serail in Beirut, December 3, 2025. (Reuters)
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks to reporters at the Grand Serail in Beirut, December 3, 2025. (Reuters)

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stressed on Saturday that the state was doing everything possible on the political and diplomatic levels to end Israel’s war on Lebanon and ease its catastrophic impact on the people, especially the displaced.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat that diplomatic efforts have not reached their desired results because the situation in Lebanon is being tied to the crises and war in the region.

“We could have avoided being impacted by the conflict were it not for the strategic error committed by Hezbollah by being dragged us into it,” he added.

This been a catastrophe for Lebanon and “the environment that the party claims it wants to protect,” Salam went on to say.

The war has been imposed on all the Lebanese people, he reiterated. “It is not in their interest,” he declared, underscoring the need to end the war.

Moreover, the PM revealed that foreign efforts to end the war are being met with “an extreme hardline position by Israel” and the United States’ preoccupation with the ongoing war.

He said the war was having dangerous repercussions on the security of the Arab Gulf, condemning and questioning Iran’s attacks against countries that have extended their hands in friendship towards it and repeatedly expressed their opposition to war before it erupted.

Salam underlined his government’s determination to implement its latest decisions related to banning Hezbollah’s military and security operations.

The state’s armed forces and judiciary are carrying out their duties to that end, but the war is making implementation more difficult, he said.

On Lebanon’s decision to impose visas on visiting Iranians, the PM explained it was due to intelligence about Iranian Revolutionary Guards operations that could harm Lebanon’s national security.

Lebanon wants the best relations with Iran, state to state, Salam added, while categorically rejecting tying the Lebanese people’s interests to that of another country as has already happened.

On the displacement of the people of the South and Beirut’s southern suburbs, the PM said the government was sparing no effort to ease their suffering and meet their essential needs, such as food and medicine.

This is a major challenge given the state’s limited means, he acknowledged. He added that he was personally overseeing aid efforts.

Meanwhile, France has continued to exert efforts to resolve the crisis. President Emmanuel Macron held telephone talks with President Joseph Aoun for the third time in two days.

His efforts have yet to make any breakthrough, ministerial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The situation needs more time, they revealed, expecting that mid-next week should witness renewed efforts.

Aoun also received a telephone call from Spain’s King Felipe, who expressed Madrid’s solidarity with Beirut.

Earlier on Saturday, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz warned the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah or "pay ‌a very ‌heavy price." 

"We (ISRAEL) ‌have ⁠no territorial claims ⁠against Lebanon, but we will not accept a situation ⁠where what ‌existed ‌for many ‌years — firing ‌from Lebanese territory toward the State of ‌Israel — is renewed," Katz said in ⁠a ⁠statement.  

"Therefore, we are turning and warning: act and take action before we act even more." 

The United Nations special coordinator for Lebanon urged Lebanon and Israel to enter talks to negotiate an end hostilities after the outbreak of a renewed Israel-Hezbollah war.  

"As bad as things are today, they are set to get even worse," Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert said.  

"Talks between Lebanon and Israel can be the game changer needed to save future generations from going, time and again, through the same nightmare".  

In December, Lebanese and Israeli civilian representatives engaged in their first direct talks in decades as part of a meeting of a committee monitoring the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.  

Lebanon was engulfed by the expanding Middle East war on Monday, after Hezbollah fired missiles at Israel to avenge the death of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli attacks on Iran.