Top Hamas Official Ends CNN Interview After Question on Responsibility for Civilian Deaths

A senior Hamas official abruptly ended a CNN interview on Saturday when asked about the organization’s responsibility for the deaths of Palestinian civilians amid the ongoing conflict.

Osama Hamdan, a prominent Hamas member, terminated the interview with CNN correspondent Jim Sciutto after being questioned about whether Hamas regretted its October 7 attack on Israel.

The Palestinian death toll has reached 40,000, officials said last week. REUTERS

This assault resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Israeli civilians. Gaza Health Ministry officials have reported that the conflict has claimed around 40,000 Palestinian lives, with most casualties being civilians.

During the interview, Hamdan accused Sciutto of bias, claiming that his questions indicated support for Israel. “Well, it seems to me you are giving the Israelis the right to kill Palestinians when you ask if we feel regret for what Israel has done,” Hamdan asserted. He criticized Sciutto for allegedly viewing the conflict from an Israeli perspective and failing to acknowledge the long history of Palestinian casualties.

Hamas member Osama Hamdan abruptly ended an interview with CNN as he was asked if the terror organization regretted the October 7 attack on Israel. CNN

The discussion escalated as Hamdan claimed Sciutto had not considered the Palestinian deaths in previous conflicts, specifically in 2008 and 2014. Sciutto responded by noting that CNN had extensively covered those events and reiterated his question about Hamas’s responsibility for civilian deaths in Gaza.

Mourners react next to the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes in the central Gaza Strip on August 18, 2024. REUTERS

The confrontation continued with both men speaking over each other, leading Hamdan to accuse Sciutto of only being interested in Israeli viewpoints. Hamdan eventually ended the interview, telling Sciutto, “You just want to listen to yourself and the Israelis.”

The conflict, which began on October 7 with a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and around 250 hostages being taken to Gaza. Since the outbreak of war, Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported over 40,000 Palestinian deaths, while Israel’s military actions have also led to significant casualties and displacement within the territory.