Hamas denies Israeli reports that it threatened a new 7 October-style attack through a UN envoy

Israeli media reported on 25 October that a senior Israeli official has warned the government that Hamas threatened a new attack on the scale of 7 October 2023. Hamas has denied it. The reports rest on an internal Israeli memo that has not been published in full, and no official Israeli, Hamas or UN statement confirms its content.

What Israeli outlets reported

According to the Times of Israel, citing Channel 13 and Ynet, the head of COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry body that coordinates civilian affairs in Gaza, Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy, wrote an urgent letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz. The memo reportedly says senior Hamas officials met the UN humanitarian coordinator, Ramiz Alakbarov, in Gaza and asked him to pass on a message to Israel. In the account of the Israeli reports, Hamas said the Israeli army’s advance beyond the “Yellow Line” and the Palestinian Authority’s decision to postpone legislative elections were making it lose control on the ground, and that it was prepared to carry out another attack in Israel, the West Bank or abroad. An excerpt of the memo, as published, calls it “an unusual threat message”.

The Yellow Line is the line behind which Israeli forces sit under the ceasefire that took effect in October 2025. The Times of Israel adds that the Palestinian Authority moved elections originally planned for 28 November to September 2027, with President Mahmoud Abbas citing obstacles created by Israeli measures. Israel’s security establishment is reportedly assessing whether Hamas could actually carry out such an attack given the Israeli presence in Gaza.

Denials from Hamas and the UN envoy’s office

Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem told journalists in Gaza that the movement had not threatened another attack like 7 October, reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire and urged mediators to stop Israeli violations, according to Asharq Al-Awsat, which reported on 23 October. Late on Thursday Hamas issued an official statement denying that it had threatened any attacks, without confirming or denying that a meeting with the UN official took place.

An official from Alakbarov’s office told the same newspaper that he did not meet Hamas officials during his latest visit. The published itinerary for his visit to Gaza on 11 and 12 October mentions humanitarian meetings, including one with partners at a UNRWA facility in Gaza City, and no meeting with Hamas. Asharq Al-Awsat reported that no official COGAT or IDF statement on the alleged threat had been issued.

Context

The reports come as the ceasefire framework, which grew out of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza plan, remains stalled: Israel says it will not withdraw until Hamas disarms, and Hamas refuses to disarm, according to the Times of Israel. Israel’s military continues to announce strikes on people it describes as Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives. The US-led Civil-Military Coordination Center in Kiryat Gat, set up on 17 October 2025 to monitor the ceasefire and to facilitate aid deliveries into Gaza, brings together officers and aid partners from more than 60 nations, according to a U.S. Army caption.

Geopolitiki has also reported on the Israel’s Hebron operation: Palestinian Authority says 2,670 displaced as demolitions and evacuations continue. The claim that Hamas threatened a new attack reaches the public only through Israeli officials and media, and Hamas rejects it.