‘Hamas shocked by great collapse, expected Israel to prevent or limit attack’

Hamas said it was “shocked” by the extent of the operation, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa storm” and had expected Israel to prevent or limit the attack.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Ali Barakeh, a member of Hamas’ exiled leadership said, “We were surprised by this great collapse.”

He claimed Hamas which has only planned a small operation was belied by the fact that an estimated 1,000 fighters took part in the incursion, attacking by land, sea and even motorised paragliders.

“We were planning to make some gains and take prisoners to exchange them. This army was a paper tiger,” he said as he vowed a total blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.

Israel and Hamas Saturday locked in a new cycle of escalating violence, after a surprise and unprecedented attack initiated by a Palestinian group from the Gaza Strip. Israel has responded with a deadly bombardment of the blockaded coastal enclave.

Hamas ready to fight a long war with Israel

Hamas is ready to fight a long war with Israel, said Barakeh, adding that it has an arsenal of rockets that will last a long time.

“We have prepared well for this war and to deal with all scenarios, even the scenario of the long war,” he said.

“We will bring life to a stop in the Zionist entity if the aggression does not stop on Gaza,” Barakeh added.

Hamas’s plan of attacking Israel

Speaking about the plan of attacking Israel, Barakeh said even Hamas’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing.

He further said, “The attack was planned by around a half dozen top Hamas commanders in Gaza.”

“Only a handful of Hamas commanders knew about the zero hour,” Barakeh said.

It is worth mentioning here that the attack on Israel had been planned by Hamas for more than a year.

He also denied reports that Iranian security officials helped plan the attack or gave the go-ahead at a meeting in Beirut last week.

Barakeh further acknowledged that Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group have helped Hamas in the past, but said that since the 2014 Gaza war, Hamas has been producing its own rockets and training its own fighters.

Hamas believed Israel had plans to kill its top leader

Barakeh denied speculation that the attack was aimed at derailing US efforts to convince Saudi Arabia to normalise ties with Israel.

He said, instead, the attack was driven by a range of actions taken by Israel’s far-right government over the past year, including provocative visits to a flashpoint Jerusalem holy site and increased pressure on Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. He also said Hamas believed Israel had plans to kill its top leaders.

Barakeh said, so far, Hamas has employed only a small number of its own forces. Nearly 2,000 Hamas fighters have taken part in the latest fighting, out of an army of 40,000 in Gaza alone, he said.

Barakeh, who was Hamas’ representative in Lebanon for years and is now in charge of coordinating with other Palestinian factions, said his group will use the scores of Israelis it captured in the raid to secure the release of all Arabs detained in Israeli jails and even some Palestinians imprisoned in the United States on charges of funding Hamas.

“There are Palestinians held in America. We will ask for their release,” he said, without specifying who he was referring to.

With inputs from AP