Senior Hamas official denies Iranian involvement in attack on Israel

Ali Barakeh, a senior Hamas official based in Beirut, has denied reports that Iran was involved in the planning of the Palestinian attack on Israel.

“Only a handful of Hamas commanders knew about the zero hour,” Barakeh said in an interview with the Associated Press, adding that the group’s closest allies were not informed in advance about the timing of the attack.

He added that Hamas will use the scores of Israelis it captured to secure the release of all Palestinians 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 clarifying who he was referring to.