Iran Helped Plot Attack On Israel Over Several Weeks, Hamas Officials Tell WSJ

(AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Iranian Security officials helped Hamas orchestrate the weekend attack on Israel and officially approved of the assault during a meeting in Beirut last Monday, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

Citing senior Hamas and Hezbollah members, the outlet reports Officers of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard have worked with Hamas to plan the air, land, and sea attack since August. The attack on Israel was one of the most deadly breaches of its borders in decades.

Hundreds of civilians and soldiers were taken hostage as Hamas bombarded villages and towns near Gaza. Hamas is a militant group that holds control in Gaza while Hezbollah is a political faction backed by Iran in Lebanon.

The report contradicts a statement made earlier this weekend by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken who claimed the U.S. has “not yet seen evidence that Iran directed or was behind this particular attack, but there is certainly a long relationship.”

The meeting in Beirut where the specifics of the assault were planned was attended by IRGC officers as well as four representatives of other Iranian backed militant organizations.

Per WSJ:

A European official and an adviser to the Syrian government, however, gave the same account of Iran’s involvement in the lead-up to the attack as the senior Hamas and Hezbollah members.

Asked about the meetings, Mahmoud Mirdawi, a senior Hamas official, said the group planned the attacks on its own. “This is a Palestinian and Hamas decision,” he said.

Hours after the attack occurred, President Joe Biden addressed the nation in a televised broadcast calling the assault “appalling” and vowing to standby Israel.

One of the essential goals of the Saturday strike was to disrupt peaceful relations with Saudi Arabia and Israel, according to senior Hamas and Hezbollah members who claim Iran believes that relationship is threatening.

UPDATE:

Axios foreign policy reporter Barak Ravid encouraged his followers on X to be skeptical  of the reporting by the WSJ, claiming “Just because someone in Hamas said something to the Wall Street Journal doesn’t mean it’s true. I recommend being a bit reserved when reporting this and not presenting things as fact. At least as long as it doesn’t have verification from somewhere else. Everyone I asked in the last two days told me that direct Iranian involvement in the events is unknown.”