As the terrorist group Hamas continues to wage war in Israel, killing thousands of innocent people and holding hundreds hostage, new reports suggest the attack was secretly planned years ago.
According to a senior Hamas leader, the brutal attack on Israel had been planned for nearly two years before the "zero hour" of the invasion occurred.
During an interview with Russia Today TV, senior Hamas official Ali Baraka said the attacks have been in the works for years under the guise of governing Gaza.
"In the past couple of years, Hamas has adopted a 'rational' approach. It did not go into any war and did not join the Islamic Jihad in its recent battle," Baraka said. "But all this was part of Hamas's strategy in preparing for this attack."
He suggested that the terrorist group wanted Israel to think it was busy governing Gaza and focusing on the 2.5 million Palestinians, adding that the goal of Hamas was to lead Israel into thinking it had abandoned the resistance altogether.
"All the while, under the table, Hamas was preparing for this big attack," he continued. "A limited number of Hamas leaders knew it. The number of people who knew about the attack and its timing could be counted on one hand. In order to keep the attack secret and successful, the different factions and our allies did not know the zero hour."
Baraka stated that the group considers their dead martyrs, saying they have rockets with ranges of 250 kilometers, 160 kilometers, 80 kilometers, 45 kilometers, and 10 kilometers that were ready to go.
The Hamas official also suggested that one of the reasons why Americans are being held hostage in Gaza is because Palestinian prisoners are sentenced to life in the U.S.
"We demand that the U.S. free our sons from prisons," he said. "The U.S. conducts prisoner swaps. Only recently, it did one with Iran. Why wouldn't it conduct a prisoner swap with us?"
As of Thursday, more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, have been killed in Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that at least 25 Americans are dead. In addition, Hamas militants have reportedly kidnapped more than 150 people and are holding them hostage.
Baraka applauded Iran for financially supporting Hamas and supplying them with weapons.
The country just received $6 billion from President Joe Biden during a prisoner swap deal last month, suggesting the money from the U.S. is being used to wipe out Israel.