Hamas began planning Saturday’s terrorist attacks across Israel two years ago, according to an interview Sunday by a senior Hamas official.
Senior Hamas official Ali Baraka told Russia Today on Sunday (via the Middle East Media Research Institute) that Hamas had been secretly planning the invasion of southern Israel for two years — which would mean after President Joe Biden took office, and after the disastrous, deadly U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
“We have been preparing for this for two years. We have local factories for everything. We have rockets with ranges of 250 kms, 160 kms, 80 kms, 45 kms, and 10 kms,” he said in an October 8, 2023, Russia Today interview.
“We have factories for mortars and their shells. We have factories for manufacturing B-7 and B-10 guns and their shells. We have factories for manufacturing Kalashnikov rifles and their bullets. We have a Russian license to produce Kalashnikov bullets in Gaza,” he added.
Baraka said Hamas was assisted by Iran — a claim for which the Biden administration it lacks direct evidence.
“Our allies are those that support us with weapons and money. First and foremost it is Iran that is giving us money and weapons. There is also Hizbullah, and the Arab and Islamic people who are standing by us,” he said.