4:21 pm ET, November 15, 2023
Hamas body camera video shows the opening minutes of the October 7 attack in Israel
From CNN’s Oren Lieberman
The Hamas video was provided by the Israel Defense Forces
on the eastern edge Gaza, dawn is just a few minutes away on the morning of October 7. A group of Hamas fighters wait, some in a white pickup truck, others on motorbikes. They run through a few final tests, they record video and make sure their weapons are ready.
An explosion in the distance appears as the signal to move.
As they run toward the border, the men shout “Allahu Akbar,” which means “God is great” in Arabic.
After a three-minute drive, they cross the first border fence that separates Gaza from Israel. The fence crumbles, leaving a large opening through which they pass, though it’s hard to tell if this is from the explosion they heard moments before.
Video of the attack provided to CNN by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) provides a new window into part of the Hamas operation launched from Gaza’s eastern border. The video comes from the body camera of one of the terrorists involved in the attack.
The Hamas video was provided by the Israel Defense Forces
The IDF said Israeli authorities released the video on October 7 to show the reality of what happened, comparing it to 9/11, when Hamas’ brutal attack inside Israel killed 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages. .
The video of the attack is an unbroken record of 100 minutes, starting before the attack and continuing until the camera stops. CNN has geolocated the locations seen in the footage and confirmed they are consistent with other scenes from the attack.
As the group crosses the first border fence, a gunman with a camera yells, “Go right!” He shouts repeatedly. As Hamas launched a multi-pronged offensive on the Gaza border, he knew where he was going, citing the depth of planning and coordination.
Within two minutes, the militants had breached the second security fence. They are in Israel and headed for a kibbutz, racing along dirt roads between plowed fields between groups of motorbikes. Many of the men carry rifles such as AK-47s, and some carry rocket-propelled grenades on their backs.
Seventeen minutes into the video, the pickup truck stops as the gunman opens fire in an open field with Israeli buildings visible in the distance. It’s not clear if he hit anything. For a few minutes, the group pauses and regroups. A man asks everyone not to waste fire by shooting in the air.
