It is yet unclear if Hamas has begun or even intends to mass produce chemical weapons.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFUpdated: OCTOBER 22, 2023 10:41Employees of the Research Institute for Protective Technologies, Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection (WIS) inspect a dummy sample which is contaminated with a substance similar to the chemical weapon Sarin, during a demonstration in Munster October 15, 2013.(photo credit: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters)
A USB containing detailed instructions on how to make a “cyanide dispersion device” was found on the deceased body of a Hamas terrorist who participated in the October 7 attack, according to Barak Ravid at Axios.
Ravid claimed that two Israeli Foreign Ministry officials and a copy of a classified Foreign Ministry cable confirmed the find. However, the authenticity of the Hamas file has not been independently verified.
Neither the Foreign Ministry nor a Hamas spokesperson issued a comment regarding the find.
THE BELONGINGS of festivalgoers are seen at the site of the Supernova festival, at which Awad Darawshe was working when Hamas unleashed its massacre on October 7. (credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)
The origins of the weapon
The recipe for the chemical weapon has been traced back to a 2003 Al-Qaeda manual, said Ravid citing the cable.
“This finding points to an intention by Hamas to use chemical weapons as part of its terror attack against civilians,” the cable alleged.
The Foreign Ministry allegedly sent the original file in English to Israeli embassies and asked them to privately pass it along to their host governments.
Israel calls on its citizens to immediately leave Egypt and Jordan, the national security council said Saturday as regional tensions flared over the war in Gaza.
“Israel’s National Security Council raises its travel warnings for Egypt (including Sinai) and Jordan to level 4 (high threat): recommendation not to travel to these countries and for those staying there to leave… as soon as possible,” the council said in a statement.
Duel Israeli-US nationals Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter Natalie Raanan, 18, were abducted by Hamas from Kibbutz Nahal Oz during the attack on October 7.
Elad Benari, Canada
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Natalie and Judith Raanan in IsraelNo credit
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Hamas on Friday evening freed two of the hostages it captured during its deadly terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, citing “humanitarian reasons” for doing so.
The two have been identified as Judith Raanan, 59, and Natalie Raanan, 18, a mother and her daughter who are dual Israeli and US nationals.
The two are residents of Chicago and had been visiting family in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on the day of the attack.
Israeli sources confirmed that the two had been handed over to the Red Cross and would be transferred to Egypt. Their families have been notified.
A source told CNN that the two are being released on “humanitarian grounds” because the mother is in poor health.
Gal Hirsch, the coordinator of the issue of prisoners and missing persons, said that the two are in Israeli territory and are making their way to meet their family.
IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari confirmed in a press statement that Judith and Natalie Raanan were met by Hirsch at the border.
The Prime Minister’s Office said, “This evening, Judith Raanan and Natalie Raanan were released from the hands of the terrorist organization Hamas.”
“The two were kidnapped by the terrorist organization Hamas in the murderous surprise attack on Saturday, October 7, 2023, when they were staying at Kibbutz Nahal Oz.”
“The person in charge of the abductees and the missing, Brigadier General Gal Hirsch, together with the IDF and the security forces, received them at the Gaza Strip border and at the moment they are on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the center of the country, where their family members are waiting for them.”
“The Government of Israel, the IDF and the entire defense establishment will continue to operate to the best of their abilities and efforts in order to locate all of the missing and return all of the hostages,” the statement concluded.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, “Two of our kidnapped are home. We will not relent in our effort to return all of the kidnapped and the missing.”
“At the same time, we continue to fight till victory,” he added.
The release of the two is the result of negotiations between Qatar and Hamas which started after Hamas abducted around 200 people from Israel during its October 7 attack.
The Hostage and Missing Families Forum welcomed the return of the two hostages, saying, “Continuing the holding of the hostages is a war crime. Hundreds of families are expecting assistance from the leaders of Arab countries after the actions of Hamas shocked the entire world.”
(Israel National News’ North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
