Netanyahu claims Iran provides 90% of Hamas’ military budget
However, the Israeli Prime Minister noted that he had no information that Iran could have been directly involved in planning an attack by Hamas supporters on Israeli territory that occurred on October 7
Iran ensures 90% of the military budget of the Gaza-based Palestinian radical group Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
“Iran supports Hamas. I think 90% of Hamas’s military budget comes from Iran. It finances, it organizes, it leads [Hamas’ activities],” Netanyahu said at a joint press conference with the participation of the country’s Defence Minister Yoav Galant and a member of the military cabinet Benny Gantz.
However, Netanyahu noted that he has no information that Iran could have been directly involved in planning the attack of Hamas supporters on Israeli territory that occurred on October 7.
“I can’t say that they actually participated in the planning of this particular action at that moment, but the fact that they supported the Hamas military machine is undeniable,” the prime minister said.
Netanyahu expressed confidence that Iran, together with Hamas, form a single “axis of evil” that is now opposing Israel.
“Without them [Iran], there is no Hamas, just as there is no [Shiite organization] Hezbollah in Lebanon, so there is an axis of evil, and this axis is waging war against us, of course, but also against the entire free world. Therefore, we must defeat Hamas because this is an existential challenge for us, and I say it has an impact on the entire Western civilization,” Netanyahu said. “So, this is a real battle, and Iran is at the center of this axis, but I cannot say that they were directly involved in the planning of this particular attack,” he added.
Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7, when many Israelis living in the settlements near the border were killed and more than 200 people, including children, women and the elderly, were taken hostage. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.
