New footage of Hamas's top military leaders, filmed years before the October 7, 2023 attack, is making the rounds online after being aired by Al Jazeera. The video shows senior al-Qassam Brigades figures gathering in enclosed rooms and tunnels, including Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, Mohammed Sinwar, Izz al-Din al-Haddad, Ahmed al-Ghandour, and Raed Thabet. Subtitles in versions of the clip label the men as planners of "Operation Al-Aqsa Flood," Hamas's name for the October 7 attack. These are scenes the public was never supposed to see, showing the group's military command at work long before the war began. What the men are saying in each meeting, however, has not been independently confirmed.

The most striking detail is what happened next. Israeli media report that every commander identified in the footage has since been killed by Israel, including Deif, Issa, Mohammed Sinwar, and Haddad. The video's framing treats this as a complete wipeout of the group's old command, but killing these men is not the same as eliminating Hamas itself, and officials and analysts still debate how much of the organization remains. Israeli media also note that Hamas regularly releases footage through Al Jazeera, which is banned in Israel, so the release is as much a message as a window into the past. That leaves a lingering question about why this material is being shown now and what Hamas hopes people will take from it.