WASHINGTON DC (WSAU) – Hundreds of Palestinian Islamist terrorist group troops underwent specialized combat training in Iran in the weeks leading up to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to persons acquainted with the attack’s intelligence.
According to the Wall Street Journal, some 500 militants from Hamas and an ally group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, took part in the September drills, which were led by officers of Iran’s Quds Force, the foreign operations wing of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The report further states that U.S. authorities are aware that Iran regularly provides training to terrorists both inside and outside of Iran. However, both they and those who are acquainted with the intelligence claimed they were unaware of any evidence until now indicating Iran had trained militants in advance of the events on October 7.
The Israeli military made some of its most direct remarks to date on Wednesday on Iran’s support of Hamas and other terrorist organizations saying, “Before the war, Iran directly assisted Hamas with money, training and weapons and technological know-how,” said Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the military’s chief spokesman. “Even now, Iran is helping Hamas with intelligence.”
Senior Hamas officials have also boasted about Iran’s extensive support since the attacks. “Hezbollah and Iran supported us with weapons, expertise, and technology,” Khaled Meshaal, a senior Hamas official in Doha, said in an interview with Al Arabiya.
Israel has launched a significant air campaign since the Hamas onslaught, hitting tens of thousands of targets in Gaza, and has been preparing for a ground invasion with roughly 300,000 troops called up to active duty. The nation has stated that its goal is to destroy Hamas and put a stop to its authority in Gaza.
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