TEL AVIV, April 7. /TASS/. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has accused the leadership of Palestine’s radical movement Hamas of having direct ties to Iran, which allegedly allocated $500,000 million to the radicals, the minister said in a statement released by the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) press office.
"I am presenting here for the first time a document that was found in the tunnels of senior Hamas officials in Gaza, which proves a direct relationship between Iran and [Hamas leaders] Yahya Sinwar and Muhammad Deif, as part of Iran’s support for the Hamas plan to destroy Israel," The Times of Israel daily quoted Katz as saying in a statement.
"In the document, they (the Hamas leaders) ask of the commander of the [Islamic] Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force to transfer $500 million for destroying the State of Israel," he continued.
According to the Israeli defense minister, "the conclusion is clear: Iran is the head of the serpent."
"Israel will do everything possible to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and will continue to hit its proxies in the region until the Iranian evil axis is crushed and defeated," Katz added.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from Gaza, killing residents of Israeli border settlements and taking over 250 hostages, including women, children and the elderly.
Hamas described its attack as retaliation for the aggressive actions taken by Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. In response, Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians before the crisis.
On March 18, the Israeli army resumed military operations in the Gaza Strip, launching massive strikes on the enclave breaking the ceasefire established in January. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained this by the fact that the radical Palestinian movement Hamas had rejected proposals put forward at the talks by mediators and the US President’s special envoy Steven Witkoff.
It also stated that the goal of the operation in the Gaza Strip is to free all hostages. The radicals blamed Israel and the US for the resumption of hostilities.
