In 2016, then Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman prepared an 11-page document warning of Hamas' plans to break through the Gaza border, seize settlements in southern Israel, commit massacres and take hostages, the Times of Israel reports.

The document, parts of which were published this morning by the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, predicts many details of the October 7 offensive and indicates that Israeli officials have known about the possibility of such an attack by Hamas for several years, but apparently did not take these warnings seriously enough.

"Hamas intends to move the conflict into Israeli territory by sending a significant number of well-trained forces (e.g., Nuhba) into Israel to try to take over an Israeli community (or perhaps even several communities) on the Gaza border and take hostages. In addition to physical harm to people, this would also result in significant damage to the morale and feelings of Israeli citizens," Lieberman wrote in the document, which is marked "top secret".

In an interview on Saturday night, Liberman referred to the document and said that he handed it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in December 2016, warning that Hamas would launch an attack if the militant group's capabilities were not eliminated.

Lieberman, who has decided not to join the military cabinet for now, said that Netanyahu had to be persuaded to raise the issue at a cabinet meeting, where the document was "dismissed with disdain," including by security chiefs.