Azernews.Az

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz revealed, for the first time, communications between Tehran and slain Hamas leaders Mohammed Deif and Yahya Sinwar, Azernews reports via Jerusalem News Syndicate.

“This is definitive proof of Iran‘s support for Hamas’s plan to destroy Israel and for the October 7, [2023], massacre,” Katz said. “Deif and Sinwar demanded $500 million from the Quds Force commander to support the annihilation of Israel and the fight against the U.S.—and they got it.”

Katz visited the IDF’s Intelligence and Technological Systems Unit (AMASHT) on Saturday and received a briefing from unit commanders on its intelligence and operational activities.

“I’m here today visiting the AMASHT unit—a special unit established during the Swords of Iron war and composed of reservists with extensive civilian-sector expertise, who developed national-level capabilities that did not yet exist,” he said.

He added that this intelligence capability holds critical material physically collected from deep inside enemy territory, including Hamas archives, Hezbollah documents and other sensitive intelligence sources.

“Today I am presenting, for the first time, a transcript of conversations found in the tunnels of senior Hamas officials in Gaza, which proves a direct connection between Iran and Yahya Sinwar and Mohammed Deif, as part of Iran’s support for Hamas’s plan to destroy Israel. The document shows they requested $500 million from the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force to help destroy the State of Israel,” Katz said.

According to the document, the head of the Quds Force’s Palestinian Affairs Branch, Hassan Izadi, responded affirmatively to the request, saying that despite Iran’s dire economic situation and the hardships faced by the Iranian people, the regime would continue funding Hamas, because the fight against Israel and the U.S. remains the regime’s top priority.

Katz concluded, “Iran is the head of the snake. Despite all its denials, it continues to finance and promote terrorism across all fronts—from Gaza, Lebanon and Syria to Judea and Samaria, and now even with the Houthis in Yemen—all under the banner of Israel’s destruction.