(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) The Hamas terror group attempted to deflect responsibility for the inhumane atrocities that unfolded in southern Israel, with a staggering death toll of 1,400 individuals and the abduction of approximately 200 others, including American citizens.
The group, in an interview with the New York Times, blamed frenzied Palestinian civilians rather than its own armed militants for the heinous terrorist attack, despite video footage showing otherwise.
Khalil al-Hayya, a member of the Hamas Politburo stationed in Qatar, claimed that the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, were restricted from harming civilians. However, these orders were reportedly thwarted as a mob of Gazans surged into Israeli hometowns, unleashing a wave of inhumane acts against defenseless Israeli civilians.
“Our issue is with the soldiers, the military people,” al-Hayya asserted, seeking to distance Hamas from the trail of devastation left in the wake of the attack. However, countless video footage contradicts his claims, as Hamas militants paraded hostages through the Gaza Strip.
Despite this, al-Hayya exonerated the armed militants, claiming it was other armed groups who perpetrated the brutal massacre and forcibly transported numerous civilians back to Gaza through the ruptured border fence.
In a potential sign of desperation, Hamas has recently released some hostages following intervention from the Qatari government, where several Hamas political leaders are currently based.
Among those freed were U.S. citizens Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natalie. The releases coincided with the U.S. and Israeli announcement of $100 million in humanitarian aid for Palestinians residing in Gaza.
In a separate development, two elderly women, Nurit Cooper, 79, and Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, who were taken hostage alongside their husbands, have been released by Hamas and subsequently transferred to an Israeli hospital, the Times reported on Monday.
Hamas pledged, however, that Israeli soldiers, many of whom are women, will not be released until Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are also freed.
BREAKING:
Hamas posts first video of them releasing hostages.
18-year-old Natalie Raanan from Chicago and her mother Judith are now in safety and are being taken care of by the Israeli Army. pic.twitter.com/cmLI8Xi6Ir
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) October 20, 2023
🚨HAMAS RELEASE FOOTAGE OF HOSTAGE RELEASE pic.twitter.com/SWPXTIDNqM
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 23, 2023
