'I want to stop this interview,' Hamas spokesman snaps at reporter
Hamas spokesman storms out of BBC interview when asked about killing Israeli civilians: 'I want to stop this'
A Hamas spokesperson stormed out of a BBC interview recently when asked about how the terror group justified killing civilians in its Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
A Hamas spokesperson stormed out of a BBC interview on Thursday when asked about how the terror group justified killing civilians in its Oct. 7 attack against Israel.
During an interview with BBC Middle East reporter Hugo Bachega, Deputy Foreign Minister for Hamas, Ghazi Hamad, insisted that his group’s attack on Israel that resulted in the murders of around 1,400 people was focused on military targets.
He claimed that there was "no command" to kill innocent people.
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A Hamas spokesperson stormed out of a recent BBC interview when asked about the terror group killing innocent civilians in Israel. (Screenshot/BBC News)
When Bachega pressed him on the fact that Hamas fighters targeted civilians during their invasion into neighborhoods in southern Israel, Hamad refused to continue with the discussion and left.
Prompting the sparring between the spokesman and BBC reporter in the now viral clip, Hamad claimed that Oct. 7’s attack "was a military operation."
"It was directed for military purposes, for the military sites," he insisted, before Bachega cut him off, stating, "But hundreds of civilians were killed."
Hamad sidestepped the interruption and pressed on, adding that Hamas’ attack was also against the "military soldiers who imposed sanctions and collective punishment against our people."
Again, the Hamas spokesperson said the attack was not aimed at civilians, stating, "And I think from the first moment, we declared that this operation was not directed to the civilians. But I can confirm and assure again and again that there was no command, no command to kill any civilians."
An Israeli flag flies over body bags of over 20 dead Hamas militants with the word "terrorist" written in Hebrew, on a main field at Kibbutz Be'eri, where dozens of civilians were killed days earlier near the border with Gaza on October 11, 2023 in Be'eri, Israel. (Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images)
After the attack, it was reported that multiple Hamas units were given orders to target elementary schools and youth centers. Documents recovered from the bodies of dead militants revealed an order to "kill as many people as possible," in addition to seizing hostages.
Elsewhere in the BBC interview, Bachega asked Hamad, "How do you justify killing people as they sleep? You know, families? How do you justify–?" At that moment, Hamad turned and said, "I want to stop this interview."
The segment ended with Hamad repeating, "I want to stop this interview." He then took the microphone off of his jacket and threw it onto the floor before leaving.
The BBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Gabriel Hays is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
