Women, children and civilians were exempt from October 7 attack: Hamas

Gaza: A senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouk told BBC that his outfit’s attack of Israel on October 7 did not target women, children and civilians.

Abu Marzouk's comments refute media reports,  and reactions by several countries that Hamas operatives were involved in shooting of unarmed adults and children in Israel.

Israel continues to claim that more than 1,400 people were killed alongside Hamas taking hostage of more than 200.

Moussa Abu Marzouk reportedly said that "women, children and civilians were exempt" from the attack.

Marzouk, the deputy political leader of the group, is its most senior member to speak to the outlet since the attack began on October 7, BBC reported.

During the interview on Saturday in Gulf, Marzouk said hostages were ‘not able to be freed while Israel was bombing Gaza’.

‘We will release them. But we need to stop the fighting,’ he was quoted as saying.

BBC said that Marzouk was recently in Russia to discuss ‘eight Russian-Israeli dual citizens’ that Hamas carried away on October 7.

Marzouk said Hamas could not release two female hostages they found in Gaza because of the conflict.

When further questioned about the October 7 attack, he said the leader of Hamas's military wing Al-Qassam Brigade, Mohamed el-Deif, had ordered the group not to target civilians.

To the question if the political wing of Hamas had known about the preparations of attack, he said the armed wing "don't have to consult with the political leadership. There is no need."

The political wing, based in Qatar, often presents itself as being remote from the military forces in Gaza.

Regarding the hostages held by Hamas,  Marzouk claimed that Hamas did not possess a list of all those he referred to as "guests", nor did he know the location of many of them,  because they were being held by "different factions".

He said a ceasefire was needed to compile the information - there were other priorities while the territory was under bombardment.

Marzouk, notes BBC,  will play a key role in how the conflict with Israel plays out, and is likely to be central in negotiations over the hostages.