{"id":245726,"date":"2025-02-24T17:07:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/24\/hamas-official-expresses-reservations-about-oct-7-attack-on-israel\/"},"modified":"2025-02-24T17:07:09","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T17:07:09","slug":"hamas-official-expresses-reservations-about-oct-7-attack-on-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/24\/hamas-official-expresses-reservations-about-oct-7-attack-on-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"Hamas Official Expresses Reservations About Oct. 7 Attack on Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/24\/multimedia\/24mideast-hamas-01-blqv\/24mideast-hamas-01-blqv-facebookJumbo.jpg?ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Hamas Official Expresses Reservations About Oct. 7 Attack on Israel\" title=\"Hamas Official Expresses Reservations About Oct. 7 Attack on Israel\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For months, leaders of Hamas have defended the militant group\u2019s decision to launch the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, even though it ignited a devastating Israeli offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and reduced the territory to rubble.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Hamas has declared \u201cvictory\u201d over Israel, and some of its officials have vowed that their fighters will carry out more Oct. 7-style attacks in the future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But now one of Hamas\u2019s top officials is publicly expressing reservations about the assault, which also touched off a humanitarian crisis that displaced nearly two million and led to critical shortages of food and health care.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mousa Abu Marzouk, the Qatar-based head of Hamas\u2019s foreign relations office, said in an interview with The New York Times that he would not have supported the attack if he had known of the havoc it would wreak on Gaza. Knowing of the consequences, he said, would have made it \u201cimpossible\u201d for him to back the assault.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/news\/news-desk\/what-was-hamas-thinking\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">has said<\/a> that he was not informed about the specific plans for the Oct. 7 attack, in which roughly 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage, but that he and other Hamas political leaders had endorsed its overall strategy of attacking Israel militarily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn\u2019t have been Oct. 7,\u201d as far as he was concerned, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">He also suggested that there was some willingness within Hamas to negotiate the future of the group\u2019s weapons in Gaza \u2014 which has been a sticking point in negotiations with Israel \u2014 taking a position that other Hamas officials have rejected. A compromise might help Hamas and Israel avoid a renewal of the war, analysts say. Israel has said that it wants Hamas to dismantle its military capabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk, 74, the first leader of Hamas\u2019s political office in the 1990s, made the remarks in a phone interview on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">It\u2019s unclear to what extent Mr. Abu Marzouk\u2019s views on Oct. 7 are shared by other Hamas leaders, or if they were an attempt to influence negotiations with Israel or put pressure on fellow leaders within the militant group. Other Hamas leaders, especially those closely connected to Iran and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, have tended to take a harder line.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His comments suggest that there are differences among Hamas officials over the party line on Oct. 7 and its consequences. They also indicate that the frustrations of Palestinians in Gaza who say the attack has made them endure extraordinary suffering are having some impact within the Hamas leadership.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk\u2019s comments were similar to those made by Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in the aftermath of the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah. The scale of the destruction in that conflict led Mr. Nasrallah to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2006\/8\/27\/nasrallah-says-he-did-not-want-war\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">concede<\/a> that his group would not have kidnapped and killed several Israeli soldiers at the time had it known it would set off such a strong response.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the coming days, Israel and Hamas are expected to start a discussion about the second phase of the cease-fire in Gaza, which calls for a permanent end to the fighting, a full Israeli withdrawal, and the release of more Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. But delays in starting those talks coupled with disputes over the implementation of the first phase have reinforced fears that the truce could fall apart and the war could restart.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk, who spent years living in the United States, has long been seen as one of the more pragmatic figures in Hamas. The war has exacted a heavy price on his family, with his 77-year-old brother, Yousef, killed in the fighting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cHe\u2019s not a nihilist,\u201d said Stanley Cohen, a lawyer and longtime friend of Mr. Abu Marzouk based in New York. \u201cHe would not support any action that he believed would bring unprecedented, wholesale retaliation by anyone on the people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk said that Hamas\u2019s survival in the war against Israel was itself a \u201ckind of victory.\u201d He also likened Hamas to an average person fighting Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion: if the untrained novice survived Mr. Tyson\u2019s punches, people would say he was victorious, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In absolute terms, he said it would be \u201cunacceptable\u201d to claim Hamas won, especially considering the scale of what Israel inflicted on Gaza. .<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re talking about a party that lost control of itself and took revenge against everything,\u201d he said, referring to Israel. \u201cThat is not a victory under any circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Israeli military has claimed that it has conducted its air and ground campaigns in Gaza in accordance with international law, and that it was carrying out attacks against Hamas, which the United States and other countries have designated a terrorist group. But legal experts have accused Israel of using force in a way that resulted in the deaths of too many civilians.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk also suggested there is some openness within the Hamas leadership to negotiate the future of the group\u2019s weapons in Gaza, a thorny issue that other Hamas officials have said is off limits.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe are ready to speak about every issue,\u201d he said, when asked about the weapons. \u201cAny issue that is put on the table, we need to speak about it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has insisted that his country will not end the war with Hamas without dismantling the group\u2019s governing and military capabilities. While Hamas has expressed readiness to concede civilian governance in Gaza, it has refused to give up its weapons.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk\u2019s remarks appeared to contradict those of Osama Hamdan, another Hamas official, who told a conference in Doha, Qatar, in the middle of this month that \u201cthe weapons of the resistance\u201d were not up for discussion, seeming to rule out a compromise.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">When asked about Mr. Hamdan\u2019s statements, Mr. Abu Marzouk said that no one leader could set the agenda on their own.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ibrahim Madhoun, an analyst close to Hamas, said there were multiple views within the group about important issues, but when its institutions made a decision, everyone stood behind it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since the cease-fire first came into effect on Jan. 19, Hamas fighters have been parading around Gaza with rifles \u2014 sending a message to Israel, the international community and Palestinians that the group was still in control.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk declined to answer specific questions about possible compromises on the issue of Hamas\u2019s weapons. Those compromises might include Hamas storing its weapons in internationally supervised facilities, agreeing to forgo rebuilding its tunnel network and rocket arsenal, or stopping the recruitment of fighters. Disarmament, experts say, is unlikely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the talks over the second phase of the cease-fire have been held up, Israeli and American officials have increasingly spoken about extending the first phase.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Releasing some more hostages and prisoners during an extension of the first phase, Mr. Abu Marzouk added, could be discussed. But he clarified that, under any circumstances, Hamas would demand far more prisoners in exchange for each hostage because the group considers the remaining Israeli hostages to be soldiers. He mentioned 500 and 1,000 prisoners as possible figures for each hostage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During the first phase, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners have been released, but the number of prisoners released per hostage has generally not exceeded 50.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abu Marzouk said Hamas was also open to releasing all hostages at the same time, if Israel was willing to free the thousands of Palestinians in its prisons, end the war and withdraw from Gaza.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe\u2019re ready to have a comprehensive deal,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Israeli officials have previously dismissed proposals to exchange all hostages for all prisoners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Abu Bakr Bashir<!-- --> contributed reporting to this article.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/24\/world\/middleeast\/hamas-official-interview-attack-israel.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For months, leaders of Hamas have defended the militant group\u2019s decision to launch the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel, even though it ignited a devastating Israeli offensive that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza and reduced the territory to rubble. Hamas has declared \u201cvictory\u201d over Israel, and some of its officials [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":245727,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2025\/02\/24\/multimedia\/24mideast-hamas-01-blqv\/24mideast-hamas-01-blqv-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2601,29266,32652,5552,3096,38,4628,2008,73193],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245726"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245726"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":245728,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245726\/revisions\/245728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}