Ex-Hamas Leader Criticized for 'Sitting' Out War With Israel

The former leader of Hamas was admonished by a journalist for not directly participating in the Israel-Hamas war after encouraging widespread violence and protests.

On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. The Gaza Health Ministry told the Associated Press on Friday that 3,785 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 others have been wounded. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, the AP said.

Khaled Mashaal, who currently heads the militant group's diaspora office in Qatar, called for an international "Day of Jihad" or "Day of Rage" last week that drew global attention—including from politicians and police in the United States—and sparked large gatherings in countries including Iraq, Jordan and even in the U.S.

Rasha Nabil, a host on the international Arabic news television channel Al Arabiya, questioned Mashaal during a one-on-one interview about the repercussions of a widespread war potentially extending beyond Gaza and enveloping multiple nations such as Egypt and Lebanon—all while Mashaal "is sitting in an air-conditioned room talking about war, Jihad and bombings."

"We are in the middle of the battlefield," Mashaal responded, according to a translation by the Washington D.C.-based Middle East Media Research Institute. "Nobody is sitting this one out. The Hamas leaders in Gaza and abroad are running this war together."

Mashaal also doubled down on Hamas' actions on October 7, calling it "ingenious" that fooled all global intelligence agencies.

"We did not embark on a new [enterprise of] resistance....When a certain measure is taken, it is in the context of the legitimate resistance that our people have agreed upon," Mashaal added.

Meanwhile, blame in the conflict has also been extolled by some on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the West for Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, now being compared to ISIS.

Netanyahu welcomed President Joe Biden earlier this week as a show of solidarity for what Netanyahu has described as a "war" provoked by Hamas and extremist allies.

Most politicians on both sides of Congress have backed Israel's cause considering the October 7 attack and long-held relationship with the country. Some politicians, namely on the progressive left of the political spectrum, have made multiple calls for the Biden administration to speak out in favor of an immediate ceasefire to protect innocent Israeli and Palestinian lives in Gaza.

Shmuel Nili, an associate professor of political science at Northwestern University, told Newsweek via phone earlier this week that Biden's appearance during wartime in the Middle East sent a strong global message against Hamas.

"When [Biden] sees Hamas having basically genocidal intent, he's just unequivocal and opposing it," Nili said. "Wen he says Hamas makes ISIS look rational, I think it's both on point objectively. And I don't know if he sort of takes it personally, he would often say at different points that one doesn't have to be Jewish to be a Zionist. I think that's a heartfelt conviction he has."

During his interview, Mashaal also claimed that Hamas is focused on the soldiers and not the citizens, adding that civilian casualties are a part of war—and that Hamas is "not responsible" for them.

"People might object to an Arab country deciding all by itself to launch an offensive against a neighbor or another party," he told Nabil. "But when people are under occupation, they have a natural right to do so. Nobody has the right to ask us why we did this, and whether or not we consulted with anyone."