Iran’s involvement in helping coordinate Hamas’ deadly terrorist attacks on Israel may have started more than a year ago — much earlier than previously known, according to a report.
Since 2022, a close group of leaders from Iran, Lebanon-based terrorist groups Hezbollah and Hamas have been working together and assisting in training Palestinian terrorists who will carry out unprecedented raids on Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip, according to the New York Times.
The group of leaders had “advanced knowledge” of the barbaric attack, the newspaper said, citing Iranians affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps and prominent senior leadership and a Syrian national affiliated with Hezbollah.
The new information came from captured Hamas terrorists who, after questioning, revealed that they had been training for the attack for a year, Israeli defense officials told the New York Times.
Hamas terrorists have been trained by elite members of Hezbollah – well-versed in urban guerilla warfare tactics – in Syria and in a joint secret command center set up in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, Iranians and Syrians familiar with the plan told the outlet.
As part of their training, the jihadists receive instruction on paragliding and hostage taking from Hezbollah terrorists.
General Ali Fadavi, deputy commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, takes part in an anti-Israel rally before Friday prayers on October 13, in Tehran.ZUMAPRESS.com
Israel is aware that Hamas terrorists have been using Hezbollah sites in Syria and Lebanon as training grounds for years, according to the report, but not specifically for last Saturday’s attack.
Hezbollah is a terrorist group funded by Iran and based in Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border.
Hamas is a political organization and terrorist group, also financed by Iran, that controls the Gaza Strip – a narrow strip of land located between Israel and Egypt. Members of his Qassam Brigade carried out the attack on Saturday.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as terrorist organizations by Israel, the US and other countries around the world.
Smoke billows following an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, Thursday, Oct. 12. 2023. AP
Efforts to unite and encourage cooperation between the two terrorist groups have been spearheaded by the head of Iran’s paramilitary Quds Force, General Esmail Ghaani, who over the past year has repeatedly traveled to Lebanon for secret meetings with the leadership of Hamas and Hezbollah, according to the New York Times. .
Perhaps spurred on by Ghaani’s efforts, in March Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, held a virtual meeting with strategists from all Iranian-backed terrorist groups, where he discussed a ground invasion of Israel and preparing jihadists for that possibility. war, according to the report.
Israeli and US officials say they have yet to find evidence directly linking Iran to Saturday’s attack.
“The implementation is all Hamas, but we do not deny Iran’s help and support,” Ali Barakeh, a senior Hamas official, told the newspaper, suggesting Iran was not deeply involved in the planning of the attack.
A Palestinian participates in the funeral of 19-year-old Ahmed Al-Awawda, who was killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the Nablus area of the occupied West Bank on Oct. 8. 2023. SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
An Israeli intelligence official warned that while Iranian officials may be aware of joint exercises by Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, it does not necessarily mean Tehran is aware of specific attacks they are practicing, according to the report.
An Iranian who was briefed on the operation told the outlet that four days before the attack, the participants were forced into isolation by Hamas commanders and their electronic devices confiscated.
They were only told the specifics of their mission – to invade Israel by land, air and sea – by commanders just hours before the attack.
The report comes after the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week that Iranian security officials not only helped Hamas plan sneak attacks on Israel, but also gave it the final go-ahead at a meeting last Monday in Beirut.
Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, held a virtual meeting with strategists from all the terrorist groups supported by Iran, where he discussed a ground invasion of Israel and preparing jihadists for possible war.Getty Images Both Hamas and Hezbollah have been designated as organizations terrorists by Israel, the US and other countries around the world.REUTERS
The report states that Iran’s involvement in planning attacks with Hamas dates back to August.
The attack left 1,300 Israelis dead, including women, children and the elderly, and the Jewish state has since declared war on Hamas – firing rockets into Gaza as it prepares for a possible ground invasion.
Hundreds of Israelis, and several Americans, were also kidnapped during the Hamas invasion and taken back to Gaza with their terrorist captors.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
