As Israel buries Bibas family, Hamas official boasts of ‘humane, moral’ treatment of hostages

On the day of the funeral of the three members of the Bibas family murdered in captivity in Gaza, Hamas politburo official Muhammad Nazal claims that the Palestinian terror group “treats its prisoners in a humane, moral and civilizational manner.”

Speaking to the Al-Arabi al-Jadeed outlet, Nazal says Hamas’s handling of the hundreds of hostages — mainly civilians abducted from their homes or a music festival on October 7, 2023 — has been “wonderful” and “humanitarian… as shown by them appearing in good health, and in an advanced moral state.”

However, families of released hostages have continued to reveal new gruesome details about the conditions their loved ones faced in Hamas captivity. Some were kept alone in tunnels for hundreds of days, many arrived in Israel visibly malnourished and emaciated, and several responded almost unresponsive. Former hostage Keith Siegel said after his release that “[Hamas] terrorists kicked me, spat on me and held me with no water, no light, no air to breathe.”

Nazal says that Hamas will not let postwar Gaza be ruled by Arab states, opposing international efforts toward a “day after” plan. He emphasizes the terror group’s commitment to continued “armed resistance” until “full sovereignty” over Gaza is reinstated.

Asked how Hamas would respond if Arab leaders decide at the upcoming Arab summit in March that Hamas must surrender Gaza, Nazal responds that political pressure can hardly make Hamas “put down its weapons” after over a year of “fierce resistance.”

He adds: “I think the Arab countries understand our position, which is the position of the Palestinian resistance in general, and not the position of Hamas alone.”