Israeli Defense Minister: Hamas Requested $500 Million in Aid from the Islamic Republic

The Israeli Defense Minister claims that based on a document allegedly found in Hamas tunnels, the leaders of this extremist group requested $500 million in financial aid from the Islamic Republic of Iran in June 2021. On Sunday, April 6, Israel Katz published a video message alongside images of two letters, which he claims are a letter from Hamas leaders to Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force of the IRGC, and the response from the commander of the Palestinian branch of the IRGC in Lebanon to this letter. The extremist group Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, the European Union, and several other countries. The letter attributed to Hamas leaders, signed by Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Marwan Issa, states that 'we need $20 million in cash monthly for support, which totals $500 million over two years.' Katz also published another letter, which he claims is the response from Mohammad Saeed Izadi, the commander of the Palestinian branch of the IRGC in Lebanon, to Hamas's request. This response states that 'our economic conditions are very difficult' and further mentions that 'although we do not violate promises, we cannot pay you a monthly amount because those resources are no longer available.' However, it expresses hope that 'the issue will be resolved. The matter is not simple, but we will do our best to ensure it does not remain under pressure and demand.' The Israeli Defense Minister described these letters as 'evidence of Iran's support for Hamas's plan to destroy Israel and the massacre of October 7,' adding, 'The conclusion is clear: Iran is the head of this snake.' Hamas attacked Israel two years and four months after the date of this letter, killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. This attack led to the start of Israeli operations in Gaza, which have resulted in over 50,000 casualties to date. The Israeli army also announced in January 2023 that it had found 'multiple documents' along with large sums of money during operations in the Gaza Strip, detailing a $154 million cash payment from 'Iran to Yahya Sinwar' between 2014 and 2020. In April 2023, Israel exclusively showed correspondence between Hamas leaders and the Islamic Republic to the British newspaper Times, indicating hundreds of millions of dollars paid by Iran to this group in Gaza over the past decade. According to the Times, among the documents was a letter dated 2020 showing the monthly payments from the Iranian government to Hamas since July 2014. The Israeli Defense Minister released his explanations about this new 'document' on the eve of the Israeli Prime Minister's trip to the U.S. to meet with Donald Trump, mentioning the U.S. President's account in his message on X. According to Benjamin Netanyahu's office, he will meet with Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, April 18, to discuss various issues, including Iran. Israel claims it will do whatever is necessary to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.