A prominent Hamas leader lost his temper and stormed off from a live interview after being pressed on the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks - and the devastating impact of the subsequent war in Gaza.
Mousa Abu Marzouk, Hamas' longtime foreign-relations chief and a co-founder of the terror group, tried to justify his organization's crimes by saying that Hamas "fulfilled its national duty" and acted as "resistance to occupation" in an interview on Arabic television.
The host shot back and questioned whether the Hamas attacks had helped the Palestinian cause and if they had achieved anything meaningful for the Palestinians, according to The Jerusalem Post.
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"Was what you did on October 7 to lead the Palestinians to liberation?" the host asked in the Friday night interview.
Marzouk, who is based in Qatar and is one of Hamas's founding members, bristled and insisted the question was disrespectful and that a small group of fighters could never "liberate" Palestine on its own.
"No sane person would claim that on October 7, with just a thousand or so fighters, it was possible to liberate Palestine," he said.
The journalist then continued, saying: "I am asking you the questions that are being asked on the streets of Palestine, by the residents of Gaza."
As the exchange grew tense, Marzouk snapped.
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"These are your questions! Show some respect for yourself. I don't want to talk to you. I don't want to see you. Cut it out. Cut it out. Go to hell!" he said.
Marzouk's comments, which aired on the Egyptian-based Pan-Arab Al-Ghad's "With Wael," quickly spread across social media and came amid growing infighting and turmoil within Hamas as the war comes to an end.
Once seen as a polished Hamas spokesperson, Arab commentators saw his on-air outburst as a signal of a widening rift among the organization's leadership as Gaza lies in ruins.
Jamal Nazzal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian political and nationalist movement Fatah, slammed Marzouk's remarks.
Nazzal said his comments were "a disgrace that exposes the moral and political bankruptcy of a crumbling group that can no longer look people in the eye," according to The Jerusalem Post.
Earlier this year, Marzouk expressed regret over the Oct. 7 attacks, telling The New York Times he would not have supported the attack if he had known of the havoc it would wreak on Gaza.
"If it was expected that what happened would happen, there wouldn't have been Oct. 7," he said.
Marzouk has been described in multiple reports as a billionaire, though his exact fortune remains unclear.
In a statement posted after The New York Times' story, Hamas said that the comments were "incorrect" and taken out of context.
The Israeli government approved and signed the first phase of the President Donald Trump-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza overnight Thursday. The agreement includes the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.
