Last weekend's devastating attack on southern Israel was two years in the making, according to a senior Hamas official, who admitted the terrorist group was surprised by how successful it had been.

The official, Ali Baraka, also acknowledged that Hamas kept itself out of recent skirmishes led by other Gaza-based terror groups in order to convince Israel it was more focused on aiding Palestinians.

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“In the past couple of years, Hamas has adopted a ‘rational’ approach. It did not go into any war, and did not join the Islamic Jihad in its recent battle,” Baraka said in an interview that ran on Russia Today and was translated by Memri. “We made them think that Hamas was busy with governing Gaza, and that it wanted to focus on the 2.5 million Palestinians there, and has abandoned the resistance altogether. All the while, under the table, Hamas was preparing for this big attack.

"We have been preparing for this for two years," he added. "In order to keep the attack secret and successful, the different factions and our allies did not know the zero hour."

Baraka, who is based in Lebanon, also acknowledged in an interview with the Associated Press, “We were surprised by this great collapse,” and added, “We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger.”

Similarly, a diplomatic source in the region told Al-Monitor, "Their success surprised them, too," and noted, "They hoped to kill some Israelis, embarrass the IDF, and return to Gaza with two or three kidnapped Israelis. Instead, they roamed inside Israel for more than a day, killing over a thousand Israelis and getting stuck with something like 200 abductees.

"They are very worried" following the successful attacks, the diplomatic source added. "With two abductees, they could have negotiated with Israel for permission to build a seaport and freedom for hundreds of prisoners held in Israeli jails. With more than 100 abductees, they will face the entire Israeli army inside Gaza. That's the tragedy of their success."

Mohammed Deif is one of the masterminds in this week’s attacks, which he named Al Aqsa Flood, according to Reuters. He reportedly began planning the attacks in 2021 during a flare-up in Israel between Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis due to fighting outside the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is the third holiest site in the Islamic faith.

Israeli police put up barriers at a walled Old City gate, which they said was to maintain order. Palestinians said the barriers restricted their freedom to assemble during the holy month of Ramadan. Between that and the planned evictions of several Palestinian families living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem, tensions were high, and it ultimately led to 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas.

"Today the rage of Al Aqsa, the rage of our people and nation is exploding. Our mujahedeen (fighters), today is your day to make this criminal understand that his time has ended," Deif said in a recording that was broadcast on Saturday as the attack began.

He has reportedly survived multiple assassination attempts by Israeli forces, having lost an eye and sustained serious injuries to one leg. His wife and two children were killed in one of those attempts back in 2014. There are reports that he lost more family members in airstrikes this week, according to the Times of Israel.

The United States State Department designated Deif, the leader of Hamas’s military wing, Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, a terrorist in 2015. The department said at the time that he was known for “deploying suicide bombers and directing the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers” and noted that he led the group’s offensive strategy during the 2014 war.

"It was triggered by scenes and footage of Israel storming Al Aqsa mosque during Ramadan, beating worshippers, attacking them, dragging elderly and young men out of the mosque," a source in Gaza told Reuters. "All this fueled and ignited the anger."

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The attacks last weekend resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, about 1,000 of whom were civilians.

The perpetrators of the attacks also kidnapped between 100 and 150 people and brought them back to Gaza. Their state and well-being are unknown. A Hamas spokesperson threatened to execute the hostages and broadcast it if Israel didn't end its retaliatory strikes.