Hamas tried to convince Iran to join in the October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, minutes of secret meetings have revealed.

The terror group’s leader Yahya Sinwar attempted to persuade Iran and Hezbollah to join the assault or the broader conflict with Israel after the raid, documents seized by the Israeli military show.

The minutes, which were obtained and reported by the New York Times, show Hamas first plotted to carry out the attack in autumn 2022.

Documents from 10 secret meetings of political and military leaders before the attack on October 7 2023, reveal that the terrorists delayed the plan, which they codenamed  “the big project”, amid efforts to convince Iran and Hezbollah to take part.

Hamas, which felt it had its allies’ support, decided to go ahead without their full involvement because it wanted to stop Israel deploying an advanced new air defence system before the assault took place, the minutes show.