During the interview, Naim rejected defining Hamas’ attacks as terrorism, falsely claiming that his organization does not target civilians.
Hamas has denied international organizations any access to those hostages still in captivity to assess their wellbeing.
While Naim denied the allegations of sexual violence, he said Hamas was unable to account for the wellbeing of the hostages because of the continued bombardment of Gaza.
In recent weeks, many civilians in Gaza have increasingly blamed Hamas for the mounting starvation.
This year, it comes against the backdrop of the ongoing war in Gaza, Israeli crackdowns on Palestinian militant groups in the occupied West Bank and Hamas’ calls for more attacks.
Persons:
Jerusalem CNN —, “, ”, Basem Naim, Naim, Israel, Pramila Patten, ” Naim, hasn’t, ” Patten’s, Netanyahu’s, West Bank “, Ramadan, CNN’s Alex Marquardt
Organizations:
Jerusalem CNN, CNN, United, Hamas, Israel, United Nations, UN, Hamas ’, Reuters, “, Gaza, West Bank
Locations:
Jerusalem, Gaza, United Nations, Istanbul, Turkey, Israel, Hamas, Doha, Qatar, Aqsa