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A Hamas official denied claims that the Palestinian terrorist group has murdered hundreds of Israeli civilians in its deadly attack on southern Israel, dismissing such claims in an interview with Sky News on Monday as "Israeli propaganda."
Sky's Mark Austin began the interview by asking Basem Naim, a former Palestinian minister and director of Hamas’s international relations, how killing hundreds of civilians furthers the Palestinian cause, to which Naim said: "I'm really shocked that you, from a well-respected channel, will adopt Israeli propaganda. No one can confirm any of this news."
Bewildered by the denial, Mark Austin presses Naim, "Are you saying that civilians have not died? Do you realize how absurd that sounds?"
"We didn't kill any civilians," Naim responded, before going on what sounded like a premade speech, shifting all the blame to Israel. "We have news and videos showing what Israel is today doing inside Gaza, based on the so-called Hannibal Doctrine (A controversial procedure that the Israel Defense Forces have used to prevent the capture of Israeli soldiers by enemy forces) to kill thousands of Palestinians including the hostages."
When Austin pressed him on all the evidence clearly pointing to the massacre of innocent civilians, Naim countered by saying, "We have not killed any civilian, and we also need to redefine what it means to say 'civilian'. We cannot consider a settler in the occupied West Bank, who is carrying guns and burning the city of Huwara as a civilian. We can't continue with anyone who is sitting around the borders, working on division to control and besiege 2.3 million in the biggest open prison as a civilian."
He went on to say that "in Gaza, you are never safe, you have to choose whether to die by an F-35 or by malnutrition", and "Israel killed over 100 civilians in the middle of a market in the middle of Jabalia refugee camp."
Likening the enclave to a pressure cooker, he said "We have no choice but to knock the doors of this open-air prison and raise our voices because of Israeli aggression."
When asked if Iran has anything to do with the onslaught, he denied it emphatically. "No. This is a pure Palestinian resistance response to a continuous aggression against Palestinian civilians."
Naim refused to disclose the number of hostages Hamas has captured but assured Austin they will be treated properly, whether it's men, women or children, and as an example, referred to Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier who was captured by Hamas in 2006 and released in a swap deal with Israel in 2011, mentioning he was treated humanely.
At some point, Austin pressed yet again on the issue of 700 Israeli civilians who were killed, Naim made it a point to say that all of them, since they've served in the IDF, even as a typist, are soldiers.
When asked what is the main achievement their attack has brought about, he said, "We have been neglected because of the conflict between America and China, between Ukraine and Russia and our suffering for 75 years is coming out for discussion."