Return to October exhibition shows how Hamas planned Oct. 7 attack

The “Back to October” exhibition offers a gripping reconstruction of the Hamas-led massacre of October 7, 2023; combines the video with declassified Israel Defense Forces intelligence and planning materials seized in the Gaza Strip that reveal how the Palestinian terrorist group planned and carried out its cross-border attack.

The 600 square meter exhibition was organized by the Israeli Intelligence Heritage and Commemoration Center (IICC), a non-profit organization dedicated to commemorating fallen members of the Israeli intelligence community.

The exhibit includes vehicles used in the attack, a film about the kidnapping of Israeli hostages, a fake Hamas tunnel and excerpts from the Israel Defense Forces’ 47-minute compilation of raw footage of the attack.

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“The main conclusion of this exhibit is that Hamas prepared this terrorist attack in a highly organized and professional manner over a long period of time. It collected extensive intelligence over many years, and visitors can see examples of this intelligence gathering effort throughout the exhibit,” Yossi Kuperwasser, director of the Intelligence Methodology Research Institute at the Israeli Intelligence Legacy and Memorial Center, told Fox News Digital.

Kuperwasser said that the most important feature of the exhibition is the collection of documents seized by the Israeli Armed Forces in Gaza and which Hamas tried to hide. These include material showing that Hezbollah chose not to fully participate in the October 7 attack out of concern that Israel would respond with a major attack. The documents also shed light on the relationship between Hamas and Iran, including the scope of Tehran’s involvement.

“The most important lesson from this is that Israel’s enemies are constantly planning large-scale terrorist attacks. They are trying to wipe us off the map, and if you become complacent and assume that they are not preparing such attacks, you would be mistaken,” he said.

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At the ‘Back to October’ exhibition held in Israel, anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic materials provoking Hamas were exhibited. (Amelie Botbol from Fox News Digital)

The first room of the exhibition includes a map showing 114 points where terrorists violated the Israeli border on October 7. Red circles indicate the communities attacked, while the dotted red line indicates where the attackers were ultimately stopped. According to the exhibit, approximately 4,300 Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other terrorist operatives entered Israel at the start of the offensive; followed by another 1,500 to 1,700 Gazans described as “unrelated civilians”.

In addition to weapons made in Egypt, North Korea, Russia, China and Iran, weapons provided to Hamas by Hezbollah are also exhibited in the room.

Tour guide Eyal, whose last name was not disclosed, displayed what he described as a “spiritual kit” that included a kidnapping kit containing handcuffs, stun devices and syringes to calm hostages, as well as a miniature Quran and a fatwa, or religious ruling, calling for the killing of Israelis.

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Personal belongings recovered from Israeli houses burned by Hamas terrorists in the October 7, 2023 attack are on display at the ‘Back to October’ exhibition in Israel. (Amelie Botbol from Fox News Digital)

Another exhibit includes military equipment belonging to former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, as well as a handwritten document taken by the Israeli Armed Forces from the European Hospital in Gaza.

“Here he instructs Hamas terrorists to attack Zionists, burn villages, kill and kidnap people, humiliate soldiers, and document everything using GoPro cameras for social media,” Eyal said.

The document also states that Sinwar hoped that Iran, the Houthis, Hezbollah, Arabs in Judea and Samaria, and Arab citizens of Israel would join the attack.

Also included in the exhibition are aerial photographs used by Hamas to map Kibbutz Be’eri, identifying individual homes, the arsenal, and the security chief’s residence; an October 6 operation plan shared only with Hamas commanders to prevent leaks; and a booklet translating Arabic phrases into Hebrew.

The exhibition also highlights Hamas’ education and promotion. The shelves display books rescued from Gaza, including copies of Mein Kampf found in schools; In the photographs, children attending Hamas summer camps can be seen posing with weapons.

“It all starts in childhood,” Eyal told Fox News Digital.

Images of what organizers said were UNRWA facilities and personnel involved in terrorist activities were shown at the ‘Back to October’ exhibition in Israel. (Amelie Botbol from Fox News Digital)

Another room focuses on Hamas’ exploitation of journalists and UNRWA for terrorist purposes; They include images that organizers say show 60% of reporters killed in Gaza were members of or affiliated with Hamas, a photograph of an UNRWA school allegedly used as a combat headquarters, and a map of Israel labeling towns and cities with Arabic names.

A white Toyota pickup truck and motorcycles used in the terrorist attack are displayed in a garage-like room.

“We found that 153 pickup trucks and 350 motorcycles entered Israel that day. Most of these Toyotas were imported into Gaza through the Port of Ashdod in Israel,” Eyal said. he said.

The military equipment on display at the exhibition, which the organizers said belonged to former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, was exhibited at the ‘Back to October’ exhibition held in Israel. (Amelie Botbol for Fox News Digital.)

Another room shows excerpts from the IDF’s 47-minute compilation of raw footage of the attacks. While many journalists chose not to watch due to the graphic content, some of those left in the room burst into tears.

Towards the end, in a corridor, the names and photographs of 1,224 people killed during the attacks, including soldiers, police officers, civilians, Jews, Arabs, Christians and Druze, are displayed in alphabetical order.

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“This is the situation we come to when we fail in our duty,” Eyal said.

The final room contains images of Israeli hostages being reunited with their families, culminating in an optimistic painting depicting a thriving southern Israel.