The Palestinian terrorist group, Hamas, has denied allegations of killing civilians, especially the decapitation of young children, levelled against it by Israeli and international media organisations.
It claimed that all those videos and audio of heinous human rights abuses and crimes perpetuated by them and circulated by these media organisations are false, as they only attacked military bases and officers.
In their communique reading during their global press conference held on Thursday and made available via their Telegram page, the group justified its Saturday attack on Israel, claiming that it was a reaction to years of oppression and neglect from the Israeli government.
Years of oppression that come, according to them, from continued Israeli expansion into the Gaza strip, plans of suppression in Al-Aqsa mosque by Israel, and the failure of the international community to caution Israel in their 75-year occupation.
Other concerns that inspired their attack were the forceful expulsion from their land and the treatment of Hamas prisoners by Israel, amongst other ‘crimes’ committed by the Jewish state against the group and the people of Palestine.
“And lastly, the crime of Israel that turns Gaza into the biggest concentration camp in the world,” they said.
The group has continued to fire rockets into border Israeli towns close to Gaza in retaliation for Israeli Defence Force (IDF) aerial bombardment and the planned ground invasion of Gaza.
Read also:13 hostages killed by Israeli airstrikes — Hamas
Hamas, whom the West has accused of having closer ties with terrorists in the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant (ISIS), insisted that the Saturday attack was only defensive.
Other reasons mentioned by the group were that the Al-Aqsa operation was entirely Palestinian and that it was targeted at military bases and compounds that “were suffocating the people of Gaza for more than 70 years.”
The group said, “Fourth, we here will like to stress that there were clear instructions from the top commander of Al-Aqsa brigades to avoid targeting civilians or killing them. And many released videos show how our fighters were keen to avoid harming civilians.
“Fifth, as a result of the swift collapse of the Israeli military bases and the surrounding of the Israeli soldiers…we condemn the unethical bias, mainly the U.S., where they were only seeking to demonise the Palestinian people and their struggle for freedom and dignity.
“We clearly condemn the report we have received that certain western countries are dispatching military support to the Israeli occupation—those countries are taking part in the Israeli aggression and killing of our people in the state of seeking a resolution or contributing to ending the longest ever occupation in modern history.
Hamas promised to treat Israelis and other nationals held hostage by it in the most civil way expected by their culture and the expectations of international law.
“For the captives and prisoners held by the resistance, we are committed to treating them in accordance with our values and expectations of international law,” it said.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
