Exclusive; Israeli Army Spokesman: The Islamic Republic has spent the people's money on Hamas and militias

Jonathan Kanrikas, the spokesman for the Israeli army, stated in an exclusive interview with the Persian section of Voice of America on Saturday, October 14, that the Islamic Republic of Iran's "financial, military, and strategic support" for Hamas militants was effective in the deadly attack by this armed group on Israel. In response to a question about the possibility of the Islamic Republic's involvement in the bloody attack by Hamas militants on Israel, he said, "I think the issue of Iran's involvement is an important topic that is currently being discussed in America, but from my perspective, the extent of Iran's direct role is irrelevant. The important point is that none of these events would have occurred without years of funding, weapons, knowledge, and strategy from Iran for Hamas and other enemies." This Israeli military official described Iran's financial support for Palestinian and Lebanese militants as unpleasant and predicted that the Iranian government would likely pay for this action in the future. Jonathan Kanrikas noted, "All the money that Iran should have spent on its own infrastructure, providing water and electricity, suitable educational services, an active economy, and a reliable future for the Iranian people has been spent on Hamas, Lebanese militants, and Palestinian militants. I find this very unpleasant, and perhaps in the future, Iran will pay the price for this, but for now, our focus is on this Iranian proxy group, Hamas. We will eliminate their military capabilities so that, despite any amount of money and weapons Iran provides them, they will no longer be able to kill Israeli civilians in any way." The Israeli army spokesman continued regarding the latest casualty figures from the Hamas attack on Israel and the current state of the conflict, saying, "A week has passed since this war was imposed on us by the most horrific terrorist entity we have ever witnessed. Unfortunately, I must say that 1,300 Israelis - both military and civilian - have been killed, and more than three thousand have been injured. Over one hundred Israeli hostages are held by Hamas in Gaza, many of whom have dual citizenship, including Israeli-American and others from Western countries and around the world. Some have even been taken hostage who are not Israeli. We have been in battle for seven days. Operations in Israel for the ceremonial burial of the deceased civilians are still ongoing. We are still trying to identify all these dead and to know who has been killed, who is missing, and who has been taken hostage. We are still piecing together a puzzle that consists of 1,300 pieces to better understand it." This Israeli official emphasized the continuation of hostilities, stating, "Hamas continues its operations in the south. The last time they launched rockets was about five hours ago towards Tel Aviv, the center of Israel. Their attacks towards southern Israel continue without interruption. They are still carrying out operations to infiltrate into Israel and kill Israeli civilians. Right now, as I am speaking to you, the Israeli Defense Forces are attacking various locations in Gaza, but for now, we are waiting for Palestinian civilians to evacuate and leave northern Gaza and the city of Gaza so that we can carry out effective military operations in that area without harming civilians. We have told these civilians that the evacuation order is for their own safety and have instructed them to head south towards Gaza, which is a rugged area, and only return when we tell them that security has been established." Jonathan Kanrikas added regarding Hamas's actions, "Unfortunately, Hamas, the organization whose job is to commit brutality and violence against Israel and the Gaza Strip, actively prevents citizens of Gaza from moving to other areas and seeking refuge in other parts of the Gaza Strip. It is surprising why they do this, but my assessment is that they want to increase civilian casualties and wish for a humanitarian disaster equivalent to the degree of brutality and savagery that occurred on October 7 when Israeli citizens were kidnapped, killed, raped, and mutilated." The Israeli army spokesman explained the occurrence of conflicts at Israel's borders, stating, "The northern front is also active. The largest and most powerful Iranian proxy group, Hezbollah, is firing missiles, rockets, and drones and trying to harm Israel. So far, the number of casualties has been low, and we have successfully thwarted and repelled several of their attacks, but we are fully aware of Hezbollah's actions against us. From the eastern front and from the Syrian area, there have also been attempts to attack Israel that have been actively thwarted, and currently, with a week having passed since this battle, we are focused on the southern front, we have deployed forces on the northern front, and we are actively present on all fronts, fully prepared to confront any conflict at any point. Our focus is on the destruction and elimination of Hamas's military capabilities and their military infrastructure in Gaza." Jonathan Kanrikas also responded to a question about the current military objectives of Israel's attacks, stating, "In summary, our goal is to dismantle Hamas's activities and military capabilities. So far, we have been more focused on air operations, targeting Hamas's military facilities throughout the Gaza Strip, and conducting numerous operations against their command areas, logistical areas, military research areas, intelligence points, rocket launch bases, and ammunition depots. We have also targeted areas from which they have attacked Israel. Attacks on these targets have been carried out and are ongoing. All these attacks are airstrikes, and we are preparing for more powerful military operations against Hamas militants. This Israeli military official, in response to the impact of Israel's military attacks in the past week on Hamas militants' activities, noted Israel's failure to defend its borders and promised that the country would continue fighting until Hamas's military capabilities are completely destroyed. The Israeli army spokesman said, "It is clear that the Israeli Defense Forces have failed to defend southern Israel. You don't need to be a military expert to understand that, and our commanders have said this loudly and clearly. We learn from it, we apply these lessons decisively, and when the war is over, we will focus seriously on it. Of course, during the battle, we will learn many things, but after that, when the war is over, we will review how we got to this point. But it is clear that this Iranian proxy group has managed to acquire significant military capabilities at our borders, received training and design for attacks, and received strategic assistance from Hezbollah and Iran to carry out such complex attacks against military targets and, most importantly, civilian targets. We learn, we review the results, and in the end, we will be stronger. The events that have occurred here are, of course, very impactful, perhaps one of the worst in Israel's history, but at the same time, they increase our resolve against Hamas. And I think it is clear to all Israeli citizens that the reality that existed until October 7 will no longer be the same as before. And the terrorist entity Hamas, which dared to cross our borders and kill our civilians, rape our women, and mutilate our children, will no longer see a sunny day and will be completely destroyed militarily. After that, we will bring the war against Hamas to its final stage, and at that time, all other terrorist organizations in the region will also understand what the consequences will be when they engage in hostility and what will happen when they butcher Israeli civilians." Jonathan Kanrikas also emphasized Israel's response to the potential outbreak of war on multiple fronts, stating, "I assure you that we are firmly focused on our security. The challenges posed by various Iranian terrorist groups are all clear and documented, and we are prepared for them. We have focused on one battlefront because, militarily, it is the most sensible thing to do. But we also have the full capability to operate on other fronts, and we have demonstrated this in our history. We have no interest in worsening the situation. Even this war with Gaza was not something we wanted. But just as we did not want war with Gaza and now Hamas is paying the price for its violence, we have no interest in fighting on another front, but if it is imposed on us, we will respond, and we will respond to any enemy that attempts to attack us." This Israeli military official also expressed gratitude for the presence of the United States in the Middle East and the importance of Washington's support for Israel, stating, "We want to defend ourselves, and we do not expect anyone else to fight this battle for us. But the unwavering and unequivocal support of the United States for the security of the Middle East and the deterrence of other enemies around us is very important. Logistically, U.S. support plays a very important and fundamental role in maintaining our operations and defending our civilian citizens using the Iron Dome and enabling us to attack enemy targets with our air forces. U.S. support is very important, and we appreciate this firm support from the U.S. and hope that due to the current situation, there will be no need to activate American forces in the region.