Musa Abu Marzouk. Photo: BBC Hamas has denied allegations that Israeli civilians were killed on October 7. Musa Abu Marzouk, one of the top leaders of the group, said this in an interview given to the British media BBC. He claimed that Hamas did not target women, children and civilians during its attacks on Israel. Only Israeli soldiers were targeted by Hamas attacks.
Israel claims that at least 1,400 people were killed in the attack that Hamas broke into Israel on October 7. Almost all of whom are civilians. In that regard, the claim of this top leader of Hamas is contrary to the claim of Israel.
Abu Marzouk is the deputy head of the political wing of Hamas. The UK has seized large amounts of its assets under anti-terror laws. BBC interviewed him last Saturday in a Gulf country. Abu Marzouk is the first senior Hamas leader to give an interview to a Western media outlet since the October 7 attacks.
When asked about the hostages taken from Israel, Abu Marzouk said, “We want to release them, but due to the war, it is not possible to release them.” “We want to liberate them, but first we have to stop this war,” Marzuk said.
This top leader of Hamas also said that Hamas members found two Russian-Israeli women hostages in Gaza. Those who left Russia. But due to the ongoing crisis, it is not possible to release them. He said, in a practical sense, we will be able to release the prisoners only when Israel stops the war. We can only hand them over to the Red Cross if the country stops fighting.
Abu Marzouk also said that the head of Hamas’s armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, Mohammad Dayef, ordered his troops not to target civilians when Hamas launched operations in Israel. He said, ‘Dayef clearly told his fighters not to kill women, not to kill children and not to kill the elderly.’
