Former National Security Council Chief Fred Fleitz told Newsmax on Monday that the Hamas terrorist organization "must be destroyed" after it launched a coordinated attack on Israel on Saturday, killing hundreds and taking Jewish civilians hostage.
"This all has to end," Fleitz said during "Wake Up America" on Monday. "We have to have an international effort to isolate Hamas as a dangerous global terrorist organization. It has to be destroyed."
The Associated Press reported that more than 1,200 people have been killed in the fighting that erupted with a barrage of more than 5,000 Hamas missiles raining down on Israel in a surprise attack Saturday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war on Hamas and promised to take "significant military steps" in retaliation, the report said.
Israeli Defense forces estimate that at least 130 Israeli citizens have been abducted and taken into Gaza by Hamas that included soldiers and civilians, including women, children, and the elderly to be used as hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Fleitz said that the surprise attack over the weekend points to a "stunning intelligence failure" for both Israel and the United States.
"I think this was just a stunning intelligence failure," he said. "Israel has incredible sources, human sources in Gaza. [Israel] conducts intense surveillance. It uses overhead imagery. It's intercepted communications, but somehow Hamas was able to plan this complex operation and Israel and the United States had no idea it was coming. So, it was an American intelligence failure, too."
Fleitz said that the circumstances lead him to believe that Hamas had help from Iran to carry out the coordinated attacks.
"Hamas had help from the state who understands communications security," he said. "What needs to be done to evade the capabilities of the Mossad and of the CIA and the NSA, and heads will roll."
Fleitz said that while it will take time to sort all that out and get to the bottom of who, if anyone, helped the terrorist organization plan the attacks, the important thing right now is for Israel to get control of Gaza to lessen the threat.
Fleitz said that if Iran did help Hamas, Israel will have no choice but to launch an attack on that country.
"A Hamas spokesman thanked Iran for its involvement for its helping carry out the attack," Fleitz said. "Now we have this Wall Street Journal report, and what I think this means is that Israel is going to have to attack Iran. Israel can't let this go by. It is said that if Iran was involved, Israel will try to take out Iran's top leadership, and I think the U.S. has to be tough here. These negotiations on Iran's nuclear program have to stop. There also has to be a broader effort to stop all assistance to Hamas."
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Charles Kim ✉
Charles Kim, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is an award-winning journalist with more than 30 years in reporting on news and politics.
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