![Dr. Basem Naim, Head of Political and International Relations in Hamas, during an interview with Sky News' correspondent Mark Austin on October 9, 2023, in which Dr. Naim claimed that Hamas did not kill any civilians in its October 7 attack on Israel. [YouTube/Screenshot/Sky News]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Screenshot-2023-10-09-222412-e1696904795836.jpg "Dr. Basem Naim, Head of Political and International Relations in Hamas, during an interview with Sky News' correspondent Mark Austin on October 9, 2023, in which Dr. Naim claimed that Hamas did not kill any civilians in its October 7 attack on Israel. [YouTube/Screenshot/Sky News]")
A Hamas official claimed in an interview Monday that Hamas did not kill any civilians in its early Saturday surprise attack on Israel.
“We didn’t kill any civilians,” Dr. Basem Naim, Head of Political and International Relations in Hamas, said in an interview with Sky News.
Dr. Naim apparently dubbed reports of the murder and kidnapping of innocent civilians as “Israeli propaganda.”
“We have the original story,” Dr. Naim claimed. “We have also to redefine what does it mean [to be] a civilian. I cannot consider a settler in the occupied West Bank who has stolen my land, carrying guns, burning the city of Hawara is a civilian,” Dr. Naim said.
‘We have not killed any civilians.’
Head of Political and International Relations in Hamas, Dr Basem Naim, denies reports that 800 Israelis have been killed after Hamas attacked Israel over the weekend.https://t.co/9o97noB2tf
📺 Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube pic.twitter.com/2jumoHRa8H
— Sky News (@SkyNews) October 9, 2023
Dr. Naim opposed Austin’s point that the attack was “an operation that was deliberately designed to murder civilians.”
“We have responded to 75 years of occupation. We have responded to 17 years of a suffocating siege killing silently 2.3 million Palestinians. We have responded to the total control and humiliation and insulting Muslims around the world by the incursions of settlers to the mosques. We have responded to 5,800 prisoners living in inhuman conditions.”
He further claimed Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack has left 1,000 people dead in Gaza and that Israel had bombed a market in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp, killing 100 civilians. (RELATED: Netanyahu Vows Israeli Response To Hamas Attack Will ‘Echo For Generations’)
War with Hamas—67 hours in.
We are actively operating to put a stop to the horrors the Hamas terrorist organization is inflicting on Israel. pic.twitter.com/TA4TLorKb4
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 9, 2023
When asked whether Iran was involved in Hamas’ attack, Dr. Naim said, “No. This is a pure Palestinian resistance responding to a continuous aggression against Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank and Jerusalem, but at the same time, we are welcoming any support to our resistance from Egypt, from Qatar, from Syria, from Iran, from U.K., if they want.”
He said Hamas would “100%” not harm its hostages but warned Israel’s bombardment of Gaza could kill some of the hostages.
More than 900 Israelis, nearly 700 Palestinians and at least 11 Americans have reportedly died since Hamas’ attack on Israel.