Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in Gaza, recently gave interviews to Al Jazeera and Lebanon's Al-Mayadeen TV, which is close to Hezbollah, to boast about his movement’s achievements in the wake of the recent border fence demonstrations and the Great Return March. In the interviews, on May 16 and 21, respectively, Sinwar also threatened that if Hamas is forced into another round of fighting with Israel, its Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades will have a few surprises in store for the “Zionist enemy.” To add substance to his bellicosity, Sinwar said that Iran had provided Hamas with weapons, large sums of money and advanced technologies, and that as a result, the movement had significantly improved its military capabilities. He boasted that the relationship between Hamas and Iran is closer today than it has ever been and that he is in daily contact with both Hezbollah and Tehran.
Sinwar's decision to disclose the close relationship with Iran at this particular point in time is surprising. First, Hamas wants to convince Egypt to expand its easing of the closure of Gaza. The movement’s leaders take pride in the fact that one of the most important results of the events along the border fence was the opening of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt during the holy month of Ramadan and perhaps beyond that. Sinwar’s statement that Iranian arms are flowing into Gaza — apparently through Egypt, since there is no other route — is exactly what the Egyptians do not care to hear right now from the Hamas leadership in Gaza, who are begging them for additional relief.