(Dan Tri) – A senior Hamas official raised the possibility that allies such as Iran will join the conflict with Israel, while the US general warned of this scenario.
Rescuers put out a fire after a raid from Gaza into Israel (Photo: Reuters).
Ali Barakeh, a senior official of the Hamas organization, said on October 9 that only a handful of top commanders in Gaza knew about the widespread attack by Hamas on Israel, but allies such as Iran and the
Mr. Barakeh said the attack was planned by top Hamas commanders in Gaza and that even Hamas’s closest allies were not informed in advance of the operation’s timing.
Hamas officials denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack on Israel.
`Only a few Hamas commanders knew about the start time of the attack,` Mr. Barakeh said, confirming that no one from the Hamas command or political office visited the Lebanese capital last week.
Mr. Barakeh admitted that Iran and the militant group Hezbollah previously helped Hamas, but since the 2014 war in Gaza, Hamas has produced its own missiles and trained its fighters.
Mr. Barakeh also dismissed speculation that the attack, which had been planned for more than a year, was intended to prevent the United States from persuading Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel.
Instead, Mr. Barakeh said that Hamas’ offensive campaign was motivated by a series of actions by Israel’s far-right government over the past year, including visits to the holy city of Jerusalem and increased pressure on prisoners.
Mr. Barakeh admitted that even Hamas was shocked by the scale of the operation, dubbed `Operation Storm Al-Aqsa`, because they had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack.
`We were surprised by this collapse. We planned just to win some victories and take prisoners to exchange. Their army is just a paper tiger,` the Hamas official said.
Mr. Barakeh said Hamas has so far only deployed a small number of its forces.
Mr. Barakeh said Hamas is ready to wage a long war with Israel and that Hamas’s missile arsenal can last a long time.
`We have carefully prepared for this war and deal with all scenarios, even the scenario of a long war,` the Hamas official added.
Israel has declared total war and warned that it will punish Hamas like never before.
General Charles Q. Brown, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned Iran not to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
`We want to send a strong message. We don’t want the situation to spread and Iran should receive that message clearly,` General Brown declared.
Israeli shelling of Lebanon killed at least three Hezbollah fighters on October 9, while Israel said one of its officers was killed in a previous cross-border raid by the group.
The cross-border fighting marks a significant expansion of the conflict between Israel and Hamas from the Gaza Strip to the Israel-Lebanon border further north.
