Newly published Army Radio documents show Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar launched the October 7 massacre believing Hezbollah would join and turn the attack into a wider regional war against Israel.

According to the documents, Hamas did not plan the attack as a Gaza-only war. Sinwar believed Hezbollah and Iran were prepared to join a multi-front campaign, including rocket fire and a major ground assault from Lebanon into the Galil.

Hamas had spent years trying to pull Hezbollah and Iran into a future war with Israel. During Operation Guardian of the Walls in 2021, Hezbollah reportedly helped Hamas with intelligence efforts in Beirut, together with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.

By 2023, Sinwar was telling Hamas leaders that Hezbollah and Iran had moved past the trauma of the 2006 Lebanon War. He described a broader war as a “realistic scenario that can be achieved.”

But Hamas intelligence also understood that Hezbollah still had a “psychological barrier” from 2006. Hezbollah feared the cost of a full war with Israel, even as Sinwar believed the shock of October 7 would force the entire axis to enter the fighting.

At 6:29 a.m. on October 7, Sinwar sent Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah a message apologizing for the surprise and asking him to join immediately with rockets and a major ground attack. Hezbollah opened fire only the next day, drawing Israel into a northern front, but did not send Radwan forces into the Galil that morning.