A Hamas commander who goes by the alias of Abu Mohammed criticized his own political leadership Sunday for being divorced from life in the Gaza Strip, according to the Daily Mail.
Mohammed told the Daily Mail that the leadership of Hamas is living a life of luxury abroad, totally divorced from the reality on the ground in Gaza. He compared his meals of dates and olive oil to the sumptuous life of the political leadership in Qatar and Turkey, the Daily Mail reported. (RELATED: House Votes To Censure Rashida Tlaib Over Anti-Israel Comments)
Top Hamas military commander claims October 7 attacks were never meant to target Israeli civilians as he breaks ranks to criticise terror group’s exiled leaders ‘who changed the plan last-minute’ in extraordinary intervention https://t.co/U4b1Dhoac7 pic.twitter.com/FMgL606ioY
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) November 5, 2023
He blames the war in Gaza squarely on the leadership.
“Our reason to speak is that we want to raise our voice to the world. My dear Gaza is under bombardment. The problem is because of our leadership,” Mohammed told the outlet. He also told the Daily Mail that communication between the military commanders and the political leadership has effectively broken down.
“We don’t know what direction to go in next. We don’t know which path to take,” Mohammad said, according to the Daily Mail. “They [Hamas leadership] destroyed us.”
Mohammad claimed to be one of the planners of the Oct. 7 operation and told the outlet that the initial plan was just to target, kill and kidnap Israeli military targets, but was unexpectedly revised by the political leadership.
Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel resulted in over 1,400 Israelis, many of them civilians, being killed and over 200 people being taken hostage. The state of Israel declared war on Hamas following the invasion. Israel has since carried out an air and ground campaign against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, with the objective of toppling Hamas from power and ensuring Israeli border security.