Hamas has apologized for the first time to Gazans for the suffering caused by the war, in a lengthy statement published Sunday evening on its Telegram channel.
The Palestinian Islamist movement “apologizes” for the difficulties caused by the war against the Israeli army, which has been going on for almost six months. But it also reiterates its determination to continue this war, which it believes must lead to “victory and freedom” for the Palestinians.
He addressed “a message of thanks to the people” of the Gaza Strip, whose “exhaustion” he acknowledged.
The movement insisted on the measures it said it had tried to put in place to alleviate the difficulties, including attempts to “control prices” within the limits of its capacities “given the ongoing aggression”.
Hamas also claimed to be exchanging with “all components” of Gazan society, mentioning other armed movements, “popular committees” and “families” in order to “solve the problems caused by the occupation”.
Humanitarian needs are immense in this territory, already undermined before the war by an Israeli blockade imposed since 2006, poverty and unemployment. Aid is trickling in, and most of the population has been displaced to the southernmost part, around Rafah, close to the closed Egyptian border.
According to UN estimates, this city, which had fewer than 300,000 inhabitants before the war, is now home to over a million.
In recent months, various Hamas personalities, such as Khaled Mechaal, former head of the Hamas political bureau, had expressed the view that “sacrifices” were necessary for the “liberation” of the Palestinians.
With AFP
