Senior Hamas official sparks outrage in Gaza after referring to war casualties as ‘material calculations’

A senior Hamas official has drawn widespread anger from Gaza residents after referring to the high death toll in the Strip as “material calculations.”

In a recent interview, Qatar-based Hamas senior official Sami Abu Zuhri remarked that the number of births in Gaza — around 50,000 — exceeds the number of war casualties, which he claimed demonstrates that the losses do not reflect the broader picture of the conflict.

He added, “The martyrs [killed in the war] — the wombs of Gaza’s women will give birth to twice as many. This is the price that must be paid. If we thought in material terms, we would not be able to hold onto our land.”

The interview, which originally aired in late March on a podcast, resurfaced in recent days and quickly went viral, prompting a wave of backlash from Gaza residents who viewed the comments as deeply disrespectful to the tens of thousands killed.

One Gaza resident filmed himself responding: “A man outside the Strip says that everyone who was killed can simply be replaced. This is someone deluded beyond reason — he’s not one of us.”

Another resident posted a video saying: “Hamas leadership says — so what if 60,000 people died? Someone else will take their place. Osama Abu Zuhri, you’re speaking from outside the Strip. Your children are outside the Strip. You ignite this war, and we are the fuel?!”

The outrage also spilled into the streets. During an anti-Hamas protest held yesterday in Khan Younis, demonstrators directly condemned Abu Zuhri’s remarks, chanting: “Oh Abu Zuhri, you disgrace, even the child wants to live.”

????قطاع غزة | مسيرات غاضبة تطالب حماس بالتخلي عن الحكم و تهاجم تصريحات سامي ابو زهري القيادي في حماس المسيئة للشهداء . pic.twitter.com/mhSWoks4u7

— شبكة يافا الإخبارية (@yaffa_ps) May 19, 2025