Only 6 top Hamas leaders knew about the attack on Israel, - a representative of the group
Date: 2023-10-10 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WORLD
Only a limited number of senior Hamas leaders knew about plans for a large-scale invasion of Israel, which took place over the weekend. Ali Barakeh, a member of the Hamas leadership in exile, living in Lebanon, told the Associated Press.
"Only a few Hamas commanders knew about zero hour," Barakeh said, adding that the attack had been planned for about a year by half a dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza, and that even the group's closest allies were not informed in advance of the attack's timing.
He also denied reports that Iranian intelligence agencies helped plan the attack. He acknowledged that Iranian and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters had helped Hamas in the past, but said that since the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas has been producing its own rockets and training its own fighters.
Barakeh also denies that the attack was intended to derail US efforts to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He said the attack was a response to a series of actions by Israel's far-right government over the past year.
At the same time, Barakeh claims that even Hamas itself was shocked by the final scale of its invasion, because they expected that Israel would be able to quickly contain the attack without allowing a major breakthrough.
"We were surprised by this big collapse. We were planning to get some gains and take prisoners for exchange. This army was a paper tiger," Barakeh said.
As the Associated Press notes, his words about a small operation are refuted by the fact that about 1,000 militants took part in the attack, who attacked immediately from land, from the sea and even from motorized paragliders.
Barake assured that Hamas is ready to wage a long war with Israel, saying that it has 40 thousand fighters in Gaza alone, as well as an arsenal of rockets that will last for a long time. He also expressed confidence that Iran and Lebanese Hezbollah "will join the battle if Gaza is conquered."
