Iran’s Quds force reportedly trained 500 Hamas, PIJ fighters weeks before Oct. 7

Roughly 500 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters received specialized combat training in Iran by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ elite Quds Force in the weeks leading up to the October 7 terror onslaught, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with intelligence related to the assault.

The terrorists blitzed the border by disabling Israeli observation posts in drone strikes while some paraglided into Israel and others rode in on motorcycles, which are commonly used by Iranian paramilitary groups, but not to date by Hamas, WSJ says.

Earlier this month though, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran directly helped plan the October 7 onslaught and even gave the go-ahead for the attack five days earlier — something that was widely refuted by US, Israeli and Hamas officials who agree that Iran has long supported Hamas but insist that there is no proof that Tehran was directly involved in the October 7 assault.

“Before the war, Iran directly assisted Hamas with money, training and weapons and technological know-how,” IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said yesterday. “Even now, Iran is helping Hamas with intelligence.”