Ghazi Hamad, a senior member of Hamas, has expressed approval for the recent large-scale attack on Israel on 7 October. During this attack, numerous civilian casualties occurred. Hamad has promised that the Palestinian terrorist group will continue to carry out such attacks until Israel is destroyed.
In an interview, Hamad stated, “Israel is a country that has no place on our land. We must remove it because it constitutes a security, military, and political catastrophe to the Arab and Islamic nation. We are not ashamed to say this.” He further called the existence of Israel “illogical” and asserted that it should be wiped off “all the Palestinian lands.” When asked if this meant the total destruction of Israel, Hamad replied, “Yes, of course.”
Hamad also declared, “We must teach Israel a lesson, and we will do it again and again. The Al-Aqsa Deluge [the name Hamas gave its 7 October onslaught] is just the first time, and there will be a second, a third, a fourth. Will we have to pay a price? Yes, and we are ready to pay it. We are called a nation of martyrs, and we are proud to sacrifice martyrs.”
Despite overwhelming evidence of deliberate attacks on Israeli civilians carried out by Hamas commanders in the past three weeks, Hamad repeated the false claim that Hamas did not intend to harm the civilian population. He attributed the massacres to alleged “complications” on the ground.
The attack on 7 October involved approximately 3,000 terrorists led by Hamas who broke through the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip by land, air, and sea. They killed about 1,400 people and took at least 245 hostages of all ages while launching thousands of missiles at Israeli cities and towns. Most of those killed were civilians, including infants, children, and the elderly. Entire families were executed in their homes, and over 260 people were killed at an open-air festival, often with extreme cruelty.
In response, Israel launched a large-scale military offensive in Gaza with the aim of destroying Hamas’ infrastructure and eliminating the entire terrorist group. The offensive seeks to target all areas where Hamas operates while minimizing civilian casualties.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, over 8,700 people were killed in Israeli strikes. However, these numbers cannot be verified and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members who died in Gaza, including as a result of misfires by the terrorist group’s own missiles.
This ongoing conflict highlights the need for international attention and a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
