Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel has told The Jerusalem Post in an exclusive interview, in the context of the war with Hamas and the conflict with Hezbollah, that Israel’s intelligence services know that Hezbollah acts according to Iran’s directives even more precisely than with Gaza.
In other words, Hamas also has massive Iranian funding, logistics support, and training, and is regularly pressed by Iran to provoke Israel, but Hezbollah is “even more a direct proxy of Iran, and Iran’s direct involvement with them is even greater than with Gaza,” said Gamliel.
Islamic Jihad is also known as being a direct proxy of Iran, but Hezbollah was the first and fully rules Lebanon, whereas Islamic Jihad must also contend with Hamas strategies and policies.
All of this means that after Hamas is dealt with, Israel will still need to eventually return its attention to the Iran-Hezbollah tandem.
Part of Gamliel’s role as intelligence minister is to hold regular meetings with top intelligence and defense officials, provide oversight over their budget and inter-agency sharing, and to also receive cabinet updates from those top officials.
During the war, she has been getting classified updates every day or two.
"Hamas cannot be allowed to continue to exist"
Regarding the future of Gaza, the intelligence minister stated, “Hamas cannot be allowed to continue to exist. We must give a permanent blow: no military capabilities, and no political rule.”
Pressed on what the consequences would be for who would run and manage Gaza if not Hamas, while she did not answer directly, she said that whoever that might be could not possibly be worse.
“There is no other option,” other than toppling the terror group from controlling the coastal enclave.
“Hamas declared war against Israel in an extremely brutal and unprecedented style, like ISIS. The horrors are inconceivable. There is the cutting off the heads of children. Tying people up and then killing them. Raping women on video,” she said.
“They attacked elderly civilians, Holocaust survivors were murdered or taken as hostages. Babies were left without parents.”
Gamliel spent time attending a number of funerals and also met with families of kidnapped persons and said she was horrified about what Hamas did “to young people who came to have a party.”
She said, “They committed war crimes at the worst levels.”
“We will respond with power and return security to all of Israel. We will win,” said Gamliel in response to Hamas’s invasion.
She said that the war has united the IDF and led to reinvigorating the reserves, which only a short time ago was beset by intense fights over the now frozen government judicial overhaul.