A Hamas terrorist who took part in the October 7 attack on Israel was found to be in possession of an al-Qaeda instruction manual on how to make a makeshift chemical weapon, Israel’s President has revealed.
The shocking revelation came during an interview with Sky News, where President Isaac Herzog showed off the material recovered from the body of a Hamas terrorist.
He claimed that Hamas had planned to use cyanide agents against Israeli civilians.
The details allegedly came from a USB drive found on the body of a Hamas terrorist in Israel.
Herzog said it included “detailed instructions on creating chemical weapons,” including “precise instructions for preparing a device for dispersing cyanide agents”.
He said: “This is material which was found on the body of one of those sadistic villains. It’s al-Qaeda material, official al-Qaeda material.
“When dealing with ISIS, al-Qaeda, and Hamas, this is what we’re dealing with. And in this material, there were instructions, how to produce chemical weapons.”
Two weeks ago, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people, injuring thousands, and taking hundreds more hostage.
In response, Israel launched a brutal bombing campaign on Gaza, with the objective of crushing the terrorist organisation.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “demolish Hamas” with his troops ready to move in with a much-anticipated ground offense.
The Israel Defense Forces have vowed to intensify air strikes on Gaza and has warned Palestinians still in the north of the territory to flee south.
Hamas says 266 Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours, including 117 children, with local hospitals at breaking point.
On Saturday, a key border crossing between Gaza and Egypt opened to allow desperately needed aid to flow into Palestine.
A total of 17 aid trucks have crossed from Egypt to Gaza this weekend.
The UN has stepped up its pressure on both Israel and Hamas and has begun calling for “a humanitarian ceasefire” to determine where aid can safely be delivered.
“What that means is very simple: We need to have clarity about places which will not be bombed or attacked by anyone – by either side,” UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Martin Griffiths told Al Jazeera.
“Typically, civilian infrastructure, hospitals, schools, and so forth are actually exempt from any attack in war, by the rules of war by international humanitarian law,” said Griffiths.
