Israel responded directly to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on X, after the Iranian supreme leader threatened more attacks against the country if they targeted Hamas in Gaza.
“Heads of the Zionist regime and their backers should know that the massacre and mass murder of the people of #Gaza will cause a larger calamity to come upon them,” Khamenei wrote on X.
His comment came after Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists slaughtered at least 1,000 Israelis, injured thousands more, and abducted more than 150 in an unprecedented ground invasion on Saturday. Americans and other foreigners are also among the dead and captured.
“It’s easy to be brave when you’re hiding behind a keyboard,” Israel responded. “You and your Hamas friends will regret your barbaric actions very soon.”
It’s easy to be brave when you’re hiding behind a keyboard.
— Israel ישראל 🇮🇱 (@Israel) October 10, 2023
You and your Hamas friends will regret your barbaric actions very soon.
According to reporting from The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, Iran gave the green light for the attack at a meeting in Beirut last Monday, senior members of Hamas and Hezbollah confirmed. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly worked with Hamas since August on planning the surprise attack.
The White House, under fire for a $6 billion hostage deal with Iran that was reached in mid-August while the attack was being planned, has claimed they have seen no evidence Tehran was involved.
Khamenei also denied involvement:
We support Palestinian Resistance, but those saying recent operation is done by non-Palestinians are wrong#AlAqsaStorm #Palestine pic.twitter.com/WgENa3IZec
— Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m) October 10, 2023