Hamas’s fighting force was divided into six regional brigades, according to the intelligence official, each one made up of 2,000 to 3,500 operatives. He presented detailed maps and diagrams found on the battlefield. One hardcover book contained up-to-date information about the Israeli military.

The intelligence official presented more evidence to bolster Israel’s assertions that Hamas waged its campaign largely by hiding behind its own civilians. An aerial photograph appeared to show a rocket firing site in the yard of a school in Shejaiya. In before and after pictures, a fabric canopy believed to be hiding the rockets appeared intact, then ripped. Another previously unpublished photograph showed a schoolyard in Beit Lahiya that was empty by day. By night, it was dotted with what looked like several rockets laid out on the ground and boxes that the official said contained more rockets.

One thing Israeli military intelligence did not foresee was that the conflict would go on so long. “I wouldn’t have thought it would take 50 days,” the official said, until Hamas accepted a cease-fire on the same terms that had been offered much earlier.