Iran annually funnels tens of millions to Islamic Jihad in Gaza, says Israeli defense minister

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday said the Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza is a "violent Iranian proxy" that receives tens of millions of dollars from Tehran annually.

Last week, Israel launched a minor military operation to take out top-ranking members of the Islamic Jihad in Gaza. The militant extremists responded by launching more than 1,000 rockets, some of which misfired and killed Palestinian children.

"The Iranian Ayatollahs are involved in this front. Islamic Jihad in Gaza is a violent Iranian proxy. Their leadership visits Iran and meets Iranian leaders frequently," Gantz emphasized.

"Islamic Jihad has an open tab in Iran. Iran provides Islamic Jihad in Gaza with tens of millions of dollars per year. Iran, via the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], transfers know-how and attempts to smuggle materials to Gaza, which are then used to build weapons aimed at civilians," Gantz said. 

While Iran has a history of attempting to influence foreign affairs, the Islamic Republic and the IRGC have made headlines recently after the Department of Justice charged an Iranian national with allegedly plotting to murder former National Security Advisor John Bolton. Throughout all of this, the Biden administration has been attempting to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran.