Destroyed cars and belongings left at the Supernova Music Festival site where hundreds were killed and dozens taken by Hamas militants near the border with Gaza on October 12, 2023 in Kibbutz Re’im, Israel. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images) A senior Hamas official reportedly told Russia Today TV on Sunday that the terror organization had secretly planned their terror invasion against Israel for two years and that Hamas made the Israelis think “that Hamas was busy with governing [the] Gaza [Strip].”
Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported that the senior Hamas official, Ali Baraka, said in the interview: “The zero hour was kept completely secret. A limited number of Hamas leaders knew it. The number of people who knew about the attack and its timing could be counted on one hand… In the past couple of years, Hamas has adopted a ‘rational’ approach. It did not go into any war, and did not join the Islamic Jihad in its recent battle.”
When the interviewer interjected that this approach was simply part of Hamas’ strategy to keep the terror invasion a secret, Baraka replied: “We made them think that Hamas was busy with governing Gaza, and that it wanted to focus on the 2.5 million Palestinians [in Gaza], and has abandoned the resistance altogether. All the while, under the table, Hamas was preparing for this big attack.”
Baraka added that Hamas began notifying their “Palestinian resistance factions” as well as Iran, Hezbollah and Turkey a half hour after the invasion began. Baraka also said that they were in contact with the Russians, who had queried them about the attack.
The senior Hamas official went on to list the terror organization’s various allies. “First and foremost it is Iran that is giving us money and weapons,” Baraka said. “There is also Hezbollah, and the Arab and Islamic people who are standing by us. There are countries that support us politically. Even Russia sympathizes with us. Even the Russians sent us messages yesterday morning. They sympathize with us. Russia is happy that America is getting embroiled in Palestine. It alleviates the pressure on the Russians in Ukraine. One war eases the pressure in another war. So we are not alone on the battlefield.”
Additionally, Baraka said that any prisoner swaps that take place with the hostages should involve members of Hamas who are being held in United States prisons. “The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps,” he said. “Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn’t it conduct a prisoner swap with us? After all, it is participating in this war. [President Joe] Biden, the highest authority in the U.S., declared that he stands with Israel against Hamas and the Palestinian people. Therefore, he is a partner to this aggression, he must pay the price.” Baraka was referencing the deal that the Biden administration forged with Iran that involved five Iranians being released from U.S. custody and unfreezing $6 billion in Iranian assets in exchange for five Americans who were detained in Iran.
Baraka also said during the interview, “The Israelis are known to love life. We, on the other hand, sacrifice ourselves. We consider our dead to be martyrs. The thing any Palestinian desires the most is to be martyred for the sake of Allah, defending his land.”
Senior #Hamas Official: We Have Been Secretly Planning The Invasion For Two Years; #Russia Sympathizes With Us, Benefits From U.S. Embroilment In This War; Any Swap Deal Should Include Hamas Prisoners In #Europe And The U.S. – Audio of report here https://t.co/bntVteEaUk #MEMRI pic.twitter.com/nxMMUuk5s6
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) October 11, 2023
Reuters had similarly reported that a source close to Hamas told them that Hamas had fooled Israel into thinking that the terror organization “was not ready for a fight.” “Hamas used an unprecedented intelligence tactic to mislead Israel over the last months, by giving a public impression that it was not willing to go into a fight or confrontation with Israel while preparing for this massive operation,” the source told Reuters.
An Israeli security source also told Reuters that Israel had been focused on beefing up their security forces in the West Bank, where there had been a spike in Palestinian terror attacks; consequently, the troops stationed at the Gaza border were, in Reuters’ words, “below full strength.”
The number of Israelis killed in the Hamas terror invasion is currently at more than 1,200; 3,000 more are wounded, according to The Times of Israel. Around 150 people are believed to have been abducted by Hamas.
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