Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Cypriot Defense Ministry Director-General Charalambos Petrides on Thursday.
Iran gives millions of dollars annually to Palestinian Islamic Jihad so that it can attack Israel, Defense Minister Benny Gantz said on Thursday in a joint press conference with his Cypriot counterpart Charalambos Petrides.
“Islamic Jihad has an open tab in Iran,” Gantz said, adding that “Iran provides Islamic Jihad in Gaza with tens of millions of dollars per year.”
“Islamic Jihad has an open tab in Iran. Iran provides Islamic Jihad in Gaza with tens of millions of dollars per year.”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz
“Iran, via the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, transfers know-how and attempts to smuggle materials to Gaza, which are then used to build weapons aimed at civilians,” Gantz said.
He met with Petrides less than a week after the end of the IDF’s military operation in Gaza called Operation Breaking Dawn in which the army attacked Islamic Jihad targets. The terrorist group launched 1,100 rockets at the Jewish state, some 200 of which never reached their target but landed instead in the Strip.
Israel-Islamic Jihad’s three-day military operation
A fragile cease-fire has been held since late Sunday night.
Israel has broadcast a persistent message to the interrogational community about Iran’s involvement in the weekend violence.
“While the world watched ‘another escalation between Israel and Gaza,’ I stopped to emphasize [that] the Iranian ayatollahs are involved in this front,” Gantz said.
“Islamic Jihad in Gaza is a violent Iranian proxy. Their leadership visits Iran and meets Iranian leaders frequently,” he said.
“Islamic Jihad in Gaza is a violent Iranian proxy. Their leadership visits Iran and meets Iranian leaders frequently.”
Defense Minister Benny Gantz
Israel must remain vigilant and will “maintain its freedom of action in all arenas,” the defense minister said. “Our eyes and targets focus on anyone who threatens the security of our citizens – from Khan Yunis to Tehran.
“On the strategic level, Israel will continue to work with our partners in facing Iranian aggression, which harms security and stability everywhere – from the Israel-Gaza border to the Mediterranean Sea, to the Gulf and beyond,” Gantz said.