Hamas operatives planned to free terrorists in Ashkelon prison, but were derailed by GPS malfunction, confused navigator.
By World Israel News Staff
Hamas planned to take over a prison in southern Israel and free hundreds of terrorists affiliated with the group during the October 7th onslaught, but their plan was derailed by a GPS error and their navigator becoming confused.
“The plan to storm the prison was carefully developed, in great detail,” a source in the Gaza Strip told Arabic-language news outlet Asharq Al-Awsat.
But on October 7th, the squad of Hamas operatives who intended to reach Ashkelon Prison, also known as Shikma Prison, “failed in their mission” due to a technical malfunction and human error.
According to the plan, the operatives would attack the main gate of the prison with RPGs and other explosive devices, while prisoners inside rioted to distract the guards.
The elite terror squad tasked with the mission, which consisted of some 23 Hamas operatives, successfully breached the border fence dividing the Gaza Strip and Israel and set off in the direction of Ashkelon.
But near the moshav Yad Mordechai, a local security group that was aware of the ongoing invasion engaged the terror cell in a gun battle, killing a number of its members, sources in the Strip told the outlet.
According to the sources, GPS navigation devices held by the group malfunctioned, pointing them in the wrong direction.
Additionally, the member of the cell responsible for guiding it towards the prison had apparently become disoriented and gave inaccurate directions to the driver.
Amid the chaos, the group ended up deviating from its intended route and retreated southward, to the Nativ HaAsara moshav. There, the cell murdered at least 20 residents of the community.
Some members of that terror squad eventually reached the city of Sderot, where they partnered with other cells that had reached Israel from Gaza. The terrorists battled police in the city for nearly three days, killing dozens of officers and civilians.