Senior Hamas official says he wouldn’t have backed October 7 if he had known the consequences

A senior Hamas official, has revealed that he would not have supported the October 7 massacre on southern Israel had he known the catastrophic consequences for the Gaza Strip.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mousa Abu Marzouk, who serves as the head of Hamas’s foreign relations office in Qatar, reflected on the heavy toll the invasion had inflicted on Gaza, saying that the outcome of the assault made it “impossible” for him to have backed the operation if he had anticipated such devastation.

“If it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn’t have been October 7,” Abu Marzouk told the newspaper, acknowledging the overwhelming impact of the attack.

The operation, conducted by Hamas terrorists, left 1,200 Israelis dead and saw 251 hostages taken, leading to a massive Israeli military response that has killed thousands and turned much of the Strip to rubble.

However, Abu Marzouk characterised Hamas’s survival throughout the war as a “kind of victory”. He likened Hamas’s perseverance to a novice surviving a match against Mike Tyson, the former heavyweight boxing champion.

However, he was quick to clarify that in absolute terms, Hamas could not claim victory, especially given the extensive toll Israel’s military actions have taken on Gaza.

“We’re talking about a party that lost control of itself and took revenge against everything,” Abu Marzouk said, claiming Israel’s response as “not a victory under any circumstances”.

Abu Marzouk also spoke about there being some willingness within Hamas to negotiate the future of the group’s weaponry in Gaza — which has been a sticking point in negotiations with Israel.

However, his remarks appeared to contradict those of Osama Hamdan, another senior Hamas member, who recently stated at a conference in Qatar earlier this month that “the weapons of the resistance” were not up for discussion. 

When asked about Hamdan’s position, Abu Marzouk said no individual leader could set the agenda alone. Ibrahim Madhoun, an analyst considered to be close to Hamas, noted that the group’s internal discussions reflected multiple perspectives, but once a decision was made, all members must support it.

Israel and Hamas are preparing for the next phase of their ceasefire agreement, which aims for a more comprehensive resolution to the conflict. This phase is expected to address key issues such as a permanent end to hostilities, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the release of more hostages and prisoners.

Abu Marzouk emphasised that Hamas was focused on securing the release of Palestinian prisoners. He made clear that for every Israeli hostage freed, Hamas expected a significantly larger number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in return.

According to the report, he suggested figures of 500 or even 1,000 prisoners in exchange for each Israeli hostage. While hundreds of Palestinian prisoners were released in the first phase of the ceasefire, the number of releases per hostage has typically been limited to around 50.

Abu Marzouk also indicated that Hamas would be open to releasing all hostages simultaneously, provided Israel agreed to free the thousands of Palestinians in its prisons, end the conflict and withdraw from Gaza. “We’re ready to have a comprehensive deal,” he said.

Abu Marzouk, who lived for a number of years in the United States, is considered one of the more pragmatic figures within Hamas. The war has had a personal cost for him as well, with his 77-year-old brother, Yousef, killed in the fighting.

In a statement posted after publication, according to the New York Times, Hamas said the comments attibuted by the paper to Abu Marzouk had been “incorrect” and taken out of context. Hamas also said the official had called the October 7 attack “an expression of our people’s right to resistance and of its rejection of the siege, occupation and settlement building”.