Hamas leader gives first TV interview since Israel’s Doha attack: What to know
Ghazi Hamad is the first member of the Palestinian group who was present when Israel bombed their compound to appear in public.
Senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad slammed Israel and the United States on Qatari television on Wednesday, becoming the first Hamas leader to speak publicly on TV since last week’s Israeli attack targeting the group's leadership in Doha.
Hamad, a member of Hamas’ political office, described the attack in an interview with Al Jazeera, saying it occurred less than an hour into a meeting that was being held in a building in the Qatari capital and was convened to study an American proposal to end the Gaza war. Hamad and other officials “quickly got out” after hearing heavy bombing, he said.
Hamad was one of six senior officials in the building at the time of the attack, along with chief negotiator Khalil al-Hayya, former leader Khaled Meshaal, West Bank leader Zaher Jabarin and fellow political bureau members Bassem Naim and Taher al-Nounou, according to Agence France-Presse.
The Israeli strike last Tuesday killed five members of the group and a Qatari security officer. The six men were buried last Thursday at a funeral attended by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Hamas said Hayya and other senior leaders — believed to have been the main targets — survived, though Hayya, whose son was killed in the bombing, has not been seen in public since then.
