73 Winter 2026 with Iran’s attacks on Israel.30 Iranian officials have made similar public statements.31 The Iranian regime’s close relationship with these armed groups has also been evident for many years in intelligence gathered by Israel and others. To protect information sources, Israel has released only some of this intelligence. For example, during the Operation, after the IDF attacked senior IRGC Quds Force generals who were responsible for coordination with and support of Iran’s proxies, the IDF released intelligence indicating their involvement in building Hamas’s military presence and capabilities in Lebanon for the purpose of attacking Israel, and their responsibility for coordinating Hamas’s military activities and weapons deployment in Lebanon with Hezbollah, including since October 7, 2023.32 Israel has also exposed some of Iran’s activities in establishing and maintaining an inter-State supply line of rockets to Hezbollah in Lebanon and the transfer of technology and means that would allow local manufacture of high-precision rockets with a range covering the entire territory of Israel.33 Both Israel and Iran view the direct and indirect attacks as interrelated. Since the October 7 attack, Israel has been repeatedly attacked from seven fronts – Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran. This reality resonated with the vision attributed to the (then) commander of the IRGC, Qasem Soleimani: “With the backing of the IRGC command, the army command, the general command of the armed forces, and of the Defense Ministry, I have assembled for you six armies outside of Iran’s territory, and I have created a corridor 1,500km long and 1,000km wide, all the way to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea …”34 The Iranian regime also publicly expressed its intent to continue its hostilities, both directly and indirectly through its proxies, partners and affiliated armed groups, referring to the ‘resistance front’ and its significant involvement in the ongoing attacks by these groups. For example, in February 2025 a senior IRGC general stated that Iran will carry out a similar attack to its April and October 2024 attacks ‘at the right time, with precision, and on a scale sufficient to destroy Israel and raze https://www.idf.il/en/mini-sites/idf-press-releases-israel-at-war/june-25-pr/the-idf-reveals-how-saeed-izadi-armedand-funded-hamas-on-behalf-of-the-iranian-regime/; Operation Iron Swords: The Development of Iranian–Hamas–Hezbollah Cooperation, Terrorism Information and Analysis Center, Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (Oct. 29, 2023), https://www.terrorisminfo.org.il/en/operation-iron-swords-the-development-of-iranian-hamas-hezbollah-cooperation/; Operation Guardian of the Walls as a Watershed Moment in Hamas Strategy for the Destruction of Israel, as Reflected in Documents Found by the IDF in the Gaza Strip, Terrorism Information and Analysis Center, Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (Apr. 27 2025), https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/operation-guardian-of-thewalls-as-a-watershed-moment-in-hamas-strategy-for-the-destruction-of-israel-as-reflected-in-documents-found-bythe-idf-in-the-gaza-strip/. 30. See Yemen’s Houthis Target Israel With Ballistic Missiles in Coordination With Iran, Reuters (June 15, 2025), https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/yemens-houthis-target-israel-with-ballistic-missiles-coordination-withiran-2025-06-15/. 31. See, for example, ‘The Zionist regime of Israel has been surrounded by the Islamic Republic from all directions, a ranking commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said’: IRGC General: Israel Surrounded by Iran, Tasnim News Agency (Sept. 28, 2019), https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2019/09/28/2106505/irgc-generalisrael-surrounded-by-iran/. 32. See, for example, Activities of Saeed Izadi, Head of the Qods Forces’ “Palestine Branch,” Reflected in Captured Document, Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (Feb. 27, 2025), https://www.terrorism-info.org. il/en/activities-of-saeed-izadi-head-of-the-qods-forces-palestine-branch-reflected-in-captured-document/. The documents released here publicly were located by IDF forces during a search of a Hamas command and control center located in a tunnel under the Gaza European Hospital. 33. Israel has repeatedly alerted the international community of such activities. See, for example, identical letters dated January 13, 2025, February 20, 2025, and May 29, 2025 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General and the President of the Security Council, U.N. Docs. S/2025/29, S/2025/107, S/2025/337. 34. IRGC General Gholamali Rashid: Hizbullah in Lebanon, Hamas and PIJ in Palestine, PMU in Iraq, and the Houthis in Yemen are all Armies Ready to Defend the Iranian Regime, MEMRI (Sept. 30, 2021), https://www.memri.org/ reports/irgc-general-gholamali-rashid-hizbullah-lebanon-hamas-and-pij-palestine-pmu-iraq-and-houthis.
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