REPORT: Hundreds of Hamas Terrorists Trained in Iran Before Oct. 7 Bloody Invasion of Israel
Hundreds of members of the Palestinian Hamas terror organization took part in combat training exercises in Iran prior to the group's unprecedented Oct. 7 massacre of 1,400 Israeli civilians, including 33 Americans, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Citing "people familiar with intelligence related to the assault," the outlet reported about 500 members of Hamas and its allied terror group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, went through specialized training last month, led by officers of Iran's Quds Force, one of the branches of the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), specializing in unconventional warfare and military intelligence.
Iranian Brigadier Gen. Esmail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force, and other senior Palestinian officials also attended, The Journal's sources said.
Meanwhile, U.S. officials have said while Iran has regularly trained members of its proxy terrorist groups in Iran and at other sites, they have no proof of any mass training taking place before Oct. 7's barbaric attack. U.S. officials and sources familiar with the information told the outlet they had no evidence that Iran assisted in training the hundreds of terrorists to prepare for the specific attack. Those statements come as the U.S. is hoping to prevent an escalation into a regional Mideast war.
However on Wednesday before The Journal published its report, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari directly accused the Islamic Republic of helping Hamas plan the barbaric attack on Israel's southern border.
While speaking at a news conference, Hagari said Iran directly aided Hamas "before the war, with training, supplying weapons, money and technological know-how." Even now, he added, "Iranian aid to Hamas continues in the form of intelligence and online incitement against the State of Israel."
Both Israel and U.S. government officials have continued to highlight Iran's ongoing support of Hamas and its other proxy terror groups in the Middle East like Lebanon's Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim political party with an armed wing of the same name that continues to trade fire with the IDF on Israel's northern border. But the Hezbollah terror group's rocket launches have so far been limited.
Hezbollah has vowed to escalate its attacks if Israel begins a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, and Israel said it would aggressively retaliate.
During his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu again said Israel is facing an "axis of evil, led by Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, their minions who are fighting to bring back the Middle East, the world, to the early Middle Ages," according to The Times of Israel.
As the chances of a widening war develop, U.S. military officials have said they have seen no evidence to suggest that Iran was directly involved in the Oct. 7 massacre.
But according to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Oct. 8, senior members of the terror groups Hamas and Hezbollah said security officers with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had worked on operational plans since August for launching attacks on Israel from air, land, and by sea.
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As CBN News has reported, Iran has denied any involvement in Hamas' savagery against Israeli civilians. A spokesman for Iran's U.N. delegation said his country was not involved.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent a clear message to Iran during Tuesday's U.N. Security Council meeting.
"The United States does not seek conflict with Iran. We do not want this war to widen. But if Iran or its proxies attack U.S. personnel anywhere, make no mistake, we will defend our people. We will defend our security swiftly and decisively," Blinken said.
Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Iravani later accused Blinken of "wrongly" attempting to blame Iran for the Hamas attack, claiming the Islamic Republic is committed to regional peace and security, calling for an immediate cease-fire.
"Iran categorically rejects these groundless allegations," Iravani said.
However, Hamas officials have given differing statements on the radical Islamic regime's involvement. A senior Hamas official also denied that Iran supported or sanctioned the operation, according to NBC News. Ali Baraka, the head of Hamas' National Relations Abroad, told the outlet, "It was a surprise to everyone, including Iran."
But Ghazi Hamad, a Hamas government spokesman, told the BBC that the group had direct backing for the multi-front attack on Israel from Iran.
Other Hamas officials have bragged about Iran's support. Khaled Meshaal, a senior Hamas official who has been given sanctuary in Doha, Qatar, told the outlet Al Arabiya, "Hezbollah and Iran supported us with weapons, expertise, and technology."
Saeid Golkar, an IRGC expert at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga told The Wall Street Journal Iran has provided training to several terror groups, including Hamas, Afghan mercenaries in Syria, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite forces, and the Houthis in Yemen.
"This sort of operation is very difficult to do without Hezbollah and IRGC support. Hamas does not have the capability to do that," Golkar said.
